Mercer International Inc. (NASDAQ:MERC) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Hold” by Analysts

Posted by Defense World Staff on Jun 8th, 2023

Shares of Mercer International Inc. (NASDAQ:MERC – Get Rating) (TSE:MRI.U) have earned an average recommendation of “Hold” from the seven ratings firms that are covering the company, MarketBeat reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, four have assigned a hold recommendation and one has given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year price objective among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $13.90.

MERC has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price target on shares of Mercer International from $13.00 to $12.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, February 21st. TheStreet downgraded Mercer International from a “b-” rating to a “c” rating in a research report on Monday, May 8th. StockNews.com assumed coverage on Mercer International in a research note on Thursday, May 18th. They set a “sell” rating for the company. Credit Suisse Group lowered their target price on Mercer International from $15.50 to $10.50 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 19th. Finally, TD Securities reduced their price target on Mercer International from $11.00 to $10.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, May 8th.

Institutional Trading of Mercer International

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Lansing Street Advisors acquired a new position in Mercer International during the 3rd quarter worth $34,000. OLD Mission Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Mercer International during the fourth quarter worth approximately $63,000. Mutual of America Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Mercer International by 18.5% in the third quarter. Mutual of America Capital Management LLC now owns 8,030 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $99,000 after acquiring an additional 1,255 shares in the last quarter. Navellier & Associates Inc. purchased a new position in Mercer International in the fourth quarter worth approximately $118,000. Finally, Quantbot Technologies LP acquired a new position in Mercer International during the 1st quarter worth approximately $155,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.22% of the company’s stock.

Mercer International Price Performance

NASDAQ MERC opened at $9.38 on Thursday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $9.27 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $10.91. The firm has a market capitalization of $623.11 million, a P/E ratio of 4.91 and a beta of 1.48. The company has a current ratio of 3.12, a quick ratio of 1.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.68. Mercer International has a 12-month low of $8.38 and a 12-month high of $17.50.

Mercer International (NASDAQ:MERC – Get Rating) (TSE:MRI.U) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 4th. The basic materials company reported ($0.46) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.36 by ($0.82). The business had revenue of $522.67 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $512.70 million. Mercer International had a return on equity of 16.28% and a net margin of 5.77%. Mercer International’s revenue was down 11.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.34 EPS. Analysts forecast that Mercer International will post -0.4 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Mercer International Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 6th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, June 28th will be given a dividend of $0.075 per share. This represents a $0.30 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.20%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, June 27th. Mercer International’s payout ratio is presently 15.71%.

Mercer International Company Profile

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Mercer International, Inc engages in the manufacture and sale of pulp. It operates through Pulp and Wood Products segments. The Pulp segment consists of the manufacture, sales, and distribution of NBSK pulp, electricity, and other by-products at three pulp mills. The Wood Products segment is involved in the manufacture, sale, and distribution of lumber, electricity and other wood residuals at the Friesau Facility.