Mercer International (NASDAQ:MERC) Major Shareholder Peter Kellogg Acquires 36,602 Shares

Mercer International Inc. (NASDAQ:MERC) (TSE:MRI.U) major shareholder Peter Kellogg purchased 36,602 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 4th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $1.93 per share, for a total transaction of $70,641.86. Following the completion of the purchase, the insider directly owned 1,036,602 shares in the company, valued at $2,000,641.86. This represents a 3.66% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Major shareholders that own at least 10% of a company’s stock are required to disclose their sales and purchases with the SEC.

Mercer International Stock Performance

Shares of Mercer International stock opened at $1.83 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.30, a current ratio of 3.01 and a quick ratio of 1.68. Mercer International Inc. has a 1 year low of $1.48 and a 1 year high of $8.28. The firm has a market cap of $122.57 million, a PE ratio of -0.71 and a beta of 0.76. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $2.13 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $2.94.

Mercer International (NASDAQ:MERC) (TSE:MRI.U) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 6th. The basic materials company reported ($0.97) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.89) by ($0.08). Mercer International had a negative net margin of 9.04% and a negative return on equity of 37.38%. The company had revenue of $458.07 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $482.70 million. Analysts expect that Mercer International Inc. will post -0.29 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (e+)” rating on shares of Mercer International in a research note on Monday. Royal Bank Of Canada lowered their price objective on Mercer International from $3.00 to $2.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, November 10th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Mercer International has an average rating of “Reduce” and a consensus price target of $3.50.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Mercer International

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Quantbot Technologies LP increased its position in shares of Mercer International by 943.3% during the first quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP now owns 20,470 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $126,000 after buying an additional 18,508 shares during the period. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL purchased a new position in shares of Mercer International during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $244,000. Millennium Management LLC raised its position in shares of Mercer International by 16.1% in the 3rd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 994,974 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $2,866,000 after acquiring an additional 137,906 shares in the last quarter. Jump Financial LLC lifted its stake in shares of Mercer International by 340.6% in the 2nd quarter. Jump Financial LLC now owns 276,837 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $969,000 after purchasing an additional 214,008 shares during the period. Finally, Iat Reinsurance Co. LTD. grew its stake in Mercer International by 1.3% in the third quarter. Iat Reinsurance Co. LTD. now owns 16,700,000 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $48,096,000 after purchasing an additional 220,000 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 85.79% of the company’s stock.

Mercer International Company Profile

Mercer International Inc, together with its subsidiaries, manufactures and sells northern bleached softwood kraft (NBSK) and northern bleached hardwood kraft (NBHK) pulp worldwide. The company operates through two segments, Pulp and Solid Wood. It manufactures, sells, and distributes pulp, electricity, and chemicals through pulp mills.