Mercer International Inc. (NASDAQ:MERC) Short Interest Down 20.3% in December

Mercer International Inc. (NASDAQ:MERC) (TSE:MRI.U) was the target of a large drop in short interest during the month of December. As of December 15th, there was short interest totalling 337,500 shares, a drop of 20.3% from the November 30th total of 423,300 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 394,400 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 0.9 days. Currently, 0.9% of the company’s shares are sold short.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently commented on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and issued a $7.00 target price on shares of Mercer International in a research note on Monday, November 4th. StockNews.com raised shares of Mercer International from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $9.13.

Mercer International Trading Down 1.5 %

MERC stock traded down $0.10 on Friday, reaching $6.48. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 222,098 shares, compared to its average volume of 353,716. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.09, a quick ratio of 2.39 and a current ratio of 3.79. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $6.41 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $6.90. The firm has a market cap of $433.32 million, a PE ratio of -2.29 and a beta of 1.32. Mercer International has a 12-month low of $5.33 and a 12-month high of $11.20.

Mercer International (NASDAQ:MERC) (TSE:MRI.U) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The basic materials company reported ($0.26) EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.29) by $0.03. Mercer International had a negative net margin of 9.33% and a negative return on equity of 17.62%. The firm had revenue of $502.14 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $485.84 million. During the same period last year, the company posted ($0.39) EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 6.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts forecast that Mercer International will post -1.62 EPS for the current year.

Mercer International Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 26th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, December 18th were given a $0.075 dividend. This represents a $0.30 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.63%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, December 18th. Mercer International’s dividend payout ratio is currently -10.60%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in MERC. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Mercer International by 1.7% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 525,532 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $3,559,000 after purchasing an additional 8,957 shares in the last quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP grew its position in shares of Mercer International by 505.8% in the 3rd quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP now owns 49,483 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $335,000 after buying an additional 41,315 shares during the period. BNP Paribas Financial Markets increased its stake in shares of Mercer International by 22.7% in the 3rd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 36,661 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $248,000 after acquiring an additional 6,786 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Entropy Technologies LP purchased a new position in Mercer International during the 3rd quarter valued at about $75,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.79% of the company’s stock.

About Mercer International

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.