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

Mercer International Inc. (NASDAQ:MERC) (TSE:MRI.U) shares crossed above its 200-day moving average during trading on Monday . The stock has a 200-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 traded.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

Mercer International Trading Up 2.4 %

The company’s fifty day moving average is $9.26 and its two-hundred day moving average is $9.05. 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 quick ratio of 2.37, a current ratio of 3.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.53.

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

Mercer International Dividend Announcement

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

Institutional Trading of Mercer International

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. BNP Paribas Arbitrage SNC grew its position in shares of Mercer International by 29.1% during the second quarter. BNP Paribas Arbitrage SNC now owns 6,396 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $52,000 after acquiring an additional 1,440 shares during the last quarter. Brevan Howard Capital Management LP purchased a new position in shares of Mercer International during the fourth quarter worth approximately $99,000. Amalgamated Bank grew its position in shares of Mercer International by 19.6% during the third 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 during the last quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP purchased a new position in shares of Mercer International during the first quarter worth approximately $155,000. Finally, Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky purchased a new position in shares of Mercer International during the third quarter worth approximately $173,000. 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.