Mercer International (NASDAQ:MERC) Stock Crosses Above 200 Day Moving Average of $9.05

Shares of Mercer International Inc. (NASDAQ:MERC) (TSE:MRI.U) passed above its two hundred day moving average during trading on Monday . The stock has a two hundred day moving average of $9.05 and traded as high as $9.50. Mercer International shares last traded at $9.25, with a volume of 129,875 shares changing hands.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on MERC shares. StockNews.com raised shares of Mercer International to a “sell” rating in a report on Friday, March 15th. Raymond James lifted their target price on shares of Mercer International from $7.50 to $8.50 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 6th. CIBC upgraded shares of Mercer International from a “sector underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $8.00 to $9.00 in a research report on Friday, January 12th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on shares of Mercer International from $9.00 to $10.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 28th. Finally, TD Securities lifted their target price on shares of Mercer International from $10.00 to $10.50 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and six have issued a hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $9.33.

Mercer International Stock Up 2.4 %

The stock has a market cap of $628.71 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -2.62 and a beta of 1.38. The company has a current ratio of 3.82, a quick ratio of 2.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.53. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $9.26 and its 200-day moving average price is $9.05.

Mercer International (NASDAQ:MERC) (TSE:MRI.U) last released its earnings results on Friday, February 16th. The basic materials company reported ($0.80) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.74) by ($0.06). The company had revenue of $470.50 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $508.46 million. Mercer International had a negative net margin of 12.14% and a negative return on equity of 29.17%. The firm’s revenue was down 19.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.30 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Mercer International Inc. will post -0.63 earnings per share for the current year.

Mercer International Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 4th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, March 27th were paid a dividend of $0.075 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 26th. This represents a $0.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.17%. Mercer International’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -8.24%.

Institutional Trading of Mercer International

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. BNP Paribas Arbitrage SNC increased its stake in Mercer International by 29.1% during the 2nd quarter. BNP Paribas Arbitrage SNC now owns 6,396 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $52,000 after purchasing an additional 1,440 shares in the last quarter. Amalgamated Bank grew its stake in shares of Mercer International by 19.6% in the 3rd quarter. Amalgamated Bank now owns 13,291 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $114,000 after acquiring an additional 2,182 shares in the last quarter. Credit Suisse AG grew its stake in shares of Mercer International by 9.1% in the 2nd quarter. Credit Suisse AG now owns 33,034 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $434,000 after acquiring an additional 2,747 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Mercer International by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 417,096 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $4,854,000 after acquiring an additional 2,888 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Rhumbline Advisers grew its stake in shares of Mercer International by 6.6% in the 1st quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 65,454 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $640,000 after acquiring an additional 4,038 shares in the last quarter. 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.