Mercer International (NASDAQ:MERC) Releases Quarterly Earnings Results, Misses Expectations By $0.08 EPS

Mercer International (NASDAQ:MERC) (TSE:MRI.U) issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday. The basic materials company reported ($0.97) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.89) by ($0.08), Zacks reports. Mercer International had a negative return on equity of 23.88% and a negative net margin of 5.60%.The firm had revenue of $458.07 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $482.70 million.

Mercer International Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ MERC traded down $0.04 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $1.84. 1,518,991 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 573,554. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $2.70 and its 200-day moving average price is $3.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.42, a current ratio of 3.10 and a quick ratio of 1.73. The firm has a market cap of $123.25 million, a P/E ratio of -1.13 and a beta of 0.94. Mercer International has a twelve month low of $1.55 and a twelve month high of $8.28.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MERC has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Mercer International in a research report on Wednesday. TD Securities cut their price objective on Mercer International from $3.50 to $3.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, August 5th. Finally, CIBC lowered their target price on Mercer International from $5.00 to $4.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and a consensus price target of $4.25.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Mercer International news, Director Linda J. Welty purchased 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 18th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $3.09 per share, with a total value of $30,900.00. Following the acquisition, the director owned 36,290 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $112,136.10. The trade was a 38.04% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of MERC. Gabelli Funds LLC bought a new stake in shares of Mercer International during the 2nd quarter worth $1,804,000. Jump Financial LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Mercer International by 340.6% during the second quarter. Jump Financial LLC now owns 276,837 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $969,000 after buying an additional 214,008 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Gamco Investors INC. ET AL acquired a new position in shares of Mercer International during the second quarter worth approximately $244,000. Hedge funds and other 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.