Short Interest in Mercer International Inc. (NASDAQ:MERC) Drops By 22.8%

Mercer International Inc. (NASDAQ:MERC) (TSE:MRI.U) was the recipient of a large drop in short interest during the month of March. As of March 15th, there was short interest totalling 399,000 shares, a drop of 22.8% from the February 28th total of 516,800 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 332,900 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 1.2 days. Approximately 1.0% of the shares of the company are sold short.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, Raymond James lowered their price objective on shares of Mercer International from $7.50 to $7.00 in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, According to MarketBeat, Mercer International currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $8.25.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Mercer International

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS bought a new stake in Mercer International during the fourth quarter worth approximately $58,000. Entropy Technologies LP raised its holdings in shares of Mercer International by 56.0% during the fourth quarter. Entropy Technologies LP now owns 17,270 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $112,000 after acquiring an additional 6,200 shares in the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets grew its stake in Mercer International by 22.7% in the third quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 36,661 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $248,000 after purchasing an additional 6,786 shares in the last quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP increased its holdings in Mercer International by 505.8% in the third quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP now owns 49,483 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $335,000 after buying an additional 41,315 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Mercer International by 1.7% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 525,532 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $3,559,000 after purchasing an additional 8,957 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 85.79% of the company’s stock.

Mercer International Stock Down 3.7 %

Mercer International stock traded down $0.23 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $5.92. 270,845 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 363,145. Mercer International has a 52-week low of $5.33 and a 52-week high of $11.20. The company’s 50-day moving average is $6.76 and its two-hundred day moving average is $6.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.09, a quick ratio of 2.39 and a current ratio of 3.79. The firm has a market cap of $395.88 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -4.66 and a beta of 1.20.

Mercer International (NASDAQ:MERC) (TSE:MRI.U) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The basic materials company reported $0.25 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.02 by $0.23. The company had revenue of $488.41 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $497.00 million. Mercer International had a negative net margin of 4.17% and a negative return on equity of 5.18%. On average, analysts predict that Mercer International will post -0.29 earnings per share for the current year.

Mercer International Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 2nd. Investors of record on Wednesday, March 26th will be given a $0.075 dividend. This represents a $0.30 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.07%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, March 26th. Mercer International’s dividend payout ratio is currently -23.62%.

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.