Mercer International Inc. (NASDAQ:MERC) Given Average Rating of “Strong Sell” by Analysts

Mercer International Inc. (NASDAQ:MERC) (TSE:MRI.U) has been given a consensus rating of “Strong Sell” by the six brokerages that are covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation and two have assigned a hold recommendation to the company. The average 12 month target price among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $1.13.

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. TD dropped their price objective on shares of Mercer International from $0.40 to $0.15 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, August 10th. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce lowered their target price on Mercer International from $1.50 to $1.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, July 21st. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (e+)” rating on shares of Mercer International in a research report on Wednesday, June 24th. Wall Street Zen raised Mercer International from a “strong sell” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday, August 15th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reduced their price objective on Mercer International from $1.00 to $0.75 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, July 17th.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Mercer International

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of MERC. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Mercer International in the 2nd quarter worth about $798,000. Atlas FRM LLC bought a new stake in shares of Mercer International during the second quarter valued at approximately $393,882. GSA Capital Partners LLP bought a new stake in shares of Mercer International during the second quarter valued at approximately $379,000. Squarepoint Ops LLC boosted its position in shares of Mercer International by 773.9% during the second quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 161,818 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $107,000 after buying an additional 143,301 shares during the period. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC bought a new position in Mercer International in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $67,000. Institutional investors own 85.79% of the company’s stock.

Mercer International Stock Up 3.3%

MERC stock opened at $0.38 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $25.76 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -0.05 and a beta of 0.48. Mercer International has a 1-year low of $0.35 and a 1-year high of $3.08. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $0.51 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $0.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 23.58, a current ratio of 1.30 and a quick ratio of 0.68.

Mercer International (NASDAQ:MERC) (TSE:MRI.U) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The basic materials company reported ($1.13) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.95) by ($0.18). Mercer International had a negative return on equity of 352.57% and a negative net margin of 27.86%.The business had revenue of $460.28 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $476.00 million. Research analysts predict that Mercer International will post -3.19 EPS for the current year.

Mercer International Company Profile

Mercer International Inc (NASDAQ: MERC) is a forest-products company focused primarily on the production and sale of northern bleached softwood kraft (NBSK) pulp. Its pulp is used by manufacturers of tissue, printing and writing papers, specialty papers, packaging, and other paper-based products.

The company operates three large-scale pulp mills: Mercer Celgar in Castlegar, British Columbia, Canada, and Mercer Stendal and Mercer Rosenthal in Germany. These facilities serve customers in North America, Europe, and other international markets.