Mercer International (NASDAQ:MERC) Trading Up 5.1% – Still a Buy?

Mercer International Inc. (NASDAQ:MERC) (TSE:MRI.U)’s stock price shot up 5.1% during mid-day trading on Monday . The stock traded as high as $8.08 and last traded at $8.09. 517,855 shares changed hands during trading, an increase of 89% from the average session volume of 274,187 shares. The stock had previously closed at $7.69.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently commented on the company. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and issued a $7.00 target price on shares of Mercer International in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Raymond James decreased their price objective on Mercer International from $7.50 to $7.00 in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $8.25.

Mercer International Price Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 2.39, a current ratio of 3.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.09. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $6.54 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $6.47. The firm has a market capitalization of $528.95 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -6.23 and a beta of 1.29.

Mercer International (NASDAQ:MERC) (TSE:MRI.U) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The basic materials company reported $0.25 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.02 by $0.23. Mercer International had a negative return on equity of 5.18% and a negative net margin of 4.17%. The company had revenue of $488.41 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $497.00 million. Analysts anticipate that Mercer International Inc. will post -0.29 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Mercer International Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 2nd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, March 26th will be issued a dividend of $0.075 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, March 26th. This represents a $0.30 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.79%. Mercer International’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently -23.62%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Quantbot Technologies LP lifted its holdings in 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 purchasing an additional 41,315 shares during the last quarter. Entropy Technologies LP acquired a new stake in shares of Mercer International in the third quarter worth $75,000. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS bought a new stake in shares of Mercer International during the 4th quarter worth $58,000. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Mercer International by 1.7% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 525,532 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $3,559,000 after buying an additional 8,957 shares during the last quarter. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets raised its holdings in 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 during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.