Mercer International (NASDAQ:MERC) Upgraded at StockNews.com

Mercer International (NASDAQ:MERC) (TSE:MRI.U) was upgraded by equities research analysts at StockNews.com from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a note issued to investors on Friday.

Several other equities analysts also recently issued reports on MERC. Royal Bank of Canada cut their price objective on Mercer International from $10.00 to $8.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, August 12th. CIBC cut their price objective on Mercer International from $10.00 to $8.50 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, August 13th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $9.38.

Mercer International Price Performance

MERC stock traded down $0.03 during trading on Friday, hitting $6.70. The company had a trading volume of 399,603 shares, compared to its average volume of 354,453. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $6.45 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $8.13. The company has a current ratio of 3.46, a quick ratio of 2.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.22. Mercer International has a fifty-two week low of $5.33 and a fifty-two week high of $11.20. The company has a market cap of $447.90 million, a P/E ratio of -1.95 and a beta of 1.34.

Mercer International (NASDAQ:MERC) (TSE:MRI.U) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 8th. The basic materials company reported ($0.50) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.42) by ($0.08). Mercer International had a negative net margin of 9.90% and a negative return on equity of 17.93%. The business had revenue of $499.40 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $482.35 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted ($1.48) EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 5.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts expect that Mercer International will post -1.15 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Mercer International news, Director Rainer Rettig bought 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, September 9th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $6.24 per share, with a total value of $31,200.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 42,463 shares in the company, valued at approximately $264,969.12. The trade was a 0.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other Mercer International news, CEO Estrada Juan Carlos Bueno bought 7,800 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, September 13th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $6.60 per share, with a total value of $51,480.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer now owns 67,615 shares in the company, valued at approximately $446,259. The trade was a 0.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Rainer Rettig bought 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, September 9th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $6.24 per share, with a total value of $31,200.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 42,463 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $264,969.12. This trade represents a 0.00 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders purchased a total of 41,300 shares of company stock valued at $252,650 over the last three months. Company insiders own 4.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of MERC. SG Americas Securities LLC boosted its position in shares of Mercer International by 26.5% during the first quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 51,201 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $509,000 after buying an additional 10,713 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd. acquired a new position in Mercer International during the first quarter valued at approximately $193,000. Finally, Everence Capital Management Inc. acquired a new position in Mercer International during the first quarter valued at approximately $261,000. 85.79% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.