Brokerages Set Mercer International Inc. (NASDAQ:MERC) Target Price at $2.95

Mercer International Inc. (NASDAQ:MERC) (TSE:MRI.U) has been assigned an average recommendation of “Reduce” from the six analysts that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and three have assigned a hold rating to the company. The average twelve-month price objective among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $2.95.

MERC has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. TD Securities lowered shares of Mercer International from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 18th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (e+)” rating on shares of Mercer International in a research report on Friday, March 27th. Finally, TD Cowen downgraded shares of Mercer International from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $2.00 to $2.25 in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Mercer International

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in MERC. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Mercer International by 2.7% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 561,001 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,111,000 after buying an additional 14,603 shares during the period. Millennium Management LLC lifted its stake in Mercer International by 16.1% in the third 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 during the last quarter. Iat Reinsurance Co. LTD. lifted 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 acquiring an additional 220,000 shares during the last quarter. Gabelli Funds LLC acquired a new position in Mercer International during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $1,804,000. Finally, Gamco Investors INC. ET AL purchased a new stake in shares of Mercer International in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $244,000. 85.79% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Mercer International Stock Performance

Shares of MERC stock opened at $1.41 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $1.73 and its 200-day moving average price is $2.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 23.58, a quick ratio of 1.79 and a current ratio of 3.05. Mercer International has a one year low of $1.23 and a one year high of $5.77. The firm has a market cap of $94.44 million, a P/E ratio of -0.19 and a beta of 0.77.

Mercer International (NASDAQ:MERC) (TSE:MRI.U) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 12th. The basic materials company reported ($1.39) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.88) by ($0.51). The company had revenue of $449.50 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $459.84 million. Mercer International had a negative net margin of 26.65% and a negative return on equity of 81.16%. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Mercer International will post -0.29 EPS for the current year.

Mercer International Company Profile

Mercer International Inc is a publicly traded pulp producer headquartered in Vancouver, British Columbia. Listed on the NASDAQ under the symbol MERC, the company specializes in the manufacture of Northern Bleached Softwood Kraft (NBSK) pulp and dissolving pulp for use in tissue, specialty paper and textile applications.

Mercer’s core business activities include the operation of integrated pulp mills in North America and Europe. Its production portfolio encompasses NBSK pulp, renowned for its strength and versatility, and dissolving pulp, which serves as a key raw material in the manufacture of viscose, cellulose acetate and other specialty products.

The company’s facilities are located in British Columbia and the U.S.