Mercer International (NASDAQ:MERC) Earns “Sector Perform” Rating from Royal Bank of Canada

Mercer International (NASDAQ:MERC) (TSE:MRI.U)‘s stock had its “sector perform” rating reissued by analysts at Royal Bank of Canada in a research report issued on Monday, Benzinga reports. They currently have a $7.00 price objective on the basic materials company’s stock. Royal Bank of Canada’s price target indicates a potential upside of 11.11% from the stock’s previous close.

MERC has been the topic of several other reports. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Mercer International from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, October 18th. CIBC cut their price objective on shares of Mercer International from $10.00 to $8.50 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, August 13th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, According to MarketBeat, Mercer International presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $9.13.

Mercer International Trading Down 0.2 %

NASDAQ MERC opened at $6.30 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $421.28 million, a PE ratio of -2.23 and a beta of 1.35. Mercer International has a 12 month low of $5.33 and a 12 month high of $11.20. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $6.48 and its 200-day moving average price is $7.85. The company has a current ratio of 3.79, a quick ratio of 2.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.09.

Mercer International (NASDAQ:MERC) (TSE:MRI.U) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The basic materials company reported ($0.26) EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.29) by $0.03. Mercer International had a negative net margin of 9.33% and a negative return on equity of 17.62%. The business had revenue of $502.14 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $485.84 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned ($0.39) EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that Mercer International will post -1.78 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Mercer International

In other Mercer International news, VP Wolfgang Beck acquired 18,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 3rd. The stock was purchased at an average price of $6.02 per share, for a total transaction of $111,370.00. Following the acquisition, the vice president now owns 26,263 shares in the company, valued at approximately $158,103.26. This trade represents a 200.00 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other Mercer International news, CEO Estrada Juan Carlos Bueno purchased 7,800 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 13th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $6.60 per share, for a total transaction of $51,480.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer now owns 67,615 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $446,259. The trade was a 0.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, VP Wolfgang Beck acquired 18,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 3rd. The shares were bought at an average price of $6.02 per share, for a total transaction of $111,370.00. Following the acquisition, the vice president now owns 26,263 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $158,103.26. This represents a 200.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders bought a total of 41,300 shares of company stock worth $252,650 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 4.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Mercer International

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Everence Capital Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Mercer International during the first quarter worth $261,000. Russell Investments Group Ltd. purchased a new position in Mercer International in the 1st quarter worth $193,000. Entropy Technologies LP acquired a new stake in Mercer International during the 3rd quarter worth about $75,000. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC grew its stake in Mercer International by 26.5% during the 1st quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 51,201 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $509,000 after purchasing an additional 10,713 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.