Carsten Merforth Purchases 7,000 Shares of Mercer International Inc. (NASDAQ:MERC) Stock

Mercer International Inc. (NASDAQ:MERC) (TSE:MRI.U) COO Carsten Merforth acquired 7,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 8th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $3.62 per share, for a total transaction of $25,340.00. Following the purchase, the chief operating officer now owns 22,651 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $81,996.62. This trade represents a 44.73% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link.

Mercer International Stock Up 4.1%

Shares of Mercer International stock traded up $0.16 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $3.92. 1,049,688 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 417,739. The company has a market cap of $261.80 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -3.07 and a beta of 1.08. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $5.41 and its 200 day simple moving average is $6.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.09, a quick ratio of 2.39 and a current ratio of 3.79. Mercer International Inc. has a 52 week low of $3.20 and a 52 week high of $11.17.

Mercer International (NASDAQ:MERC) (TSE:MRI.U) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The basic materials company reported ($0.33) EPS for the quarter. The firm had revenue of $506.97 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $508.42 million. Mercer International had a negative return on equity of 5.18% and a negative net margin of 4.17%. Equities analysts expect that Mercer International Inc. will post -0.29 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Mercer International Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 3rd. Investors of record on Thursday, June 26th will be issued a $0.075 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, June 26th. This represents a $0.30 annualized dividend and a yield of 7.66%. Mercer International’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -22.22%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on MERC shares. Raymond James dropped their price objective on shares of Mercer International from $7.00 to $5.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. TD Securities dropped their price target on shares of Mercer International from $5.50 to $4.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, May 5th. CIBC dropped their price target on shares of Mercer International from $6.00 to $5.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price objective on shares of Mercer International from $7.00 to $5.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $4.75.

Institutional Trading of Mercer International

An institutional investor recently bought a new position in Mercer International stock. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS purchased a new position in Mercer International Inc. (NASDAQ:MERC) (TSE:MRI.U) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm purchased 9,000 shares of the basic materials company’s stock, valued at approximately $58,000. Hedge funds and other 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.