Mercer International Inc. (NASDAQ:MERC) Receives Average Recommendation of “Reduce” from Analysts

Shares of Mercer International Inc. (NASDAQ:MERC) (TSE:MRI.U) have been assigned an average recommendation of “Reduce” from the six brokerages that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation and three have issued a hold recommendation on the company. The average 1 year price objective among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $2.80.

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (e+)” rating on shares of Mercer International in a research note on Friday, March 27th. TD Cowen downgraded Mercer International from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $2.00 to $2.25 in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. Royal Bank Of Canada cut their price objective on Mercer International from $2.00 to $1.25 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 16th. Finally, TD Securities downgraded Mercer International from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 18th.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL bought a new position in Mercer International in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $244,000. Jump Financial LLC boosted its position in shares of Mercer International by 340.6% in the second quarter. Jump Financial LLC now owns 276,837 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $969,000 after acquiring an additional 214,008 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Mercer International by 2.7% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 561,001 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,111,000 after acquiring an additional 14,603 shares during the period. Gabelli Funds LLC bought a new stake in shares of Mercer International in the second quarter valued at approximately $1,804,000. Finally, Millennium Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Mercer International by 16.1% in the third quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 994,974 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $2,866,000 after acquiring an additional 137,906 shares during the period. 85.79% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Mercer International Stock Up 6.6%

MERC opened at $1.13 on Tuesday. Mercer International has a fifty-two week low of $1.00 and a fifty-two week high of $4.93. The business has a 50-day moving average of $1.53 and a 200-day moving average of $1.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 23.58, a current ratio of 3.05 and a quick ratio of 1.79. The company has a market capitalization of $75.69 million, a PE ratio of -0.15 and a beta of 0.77.

Mercer International (NASDAQ:MERC) (TSE:MRI.U) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 12th. The basic materials company reported ($1.39) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.88) by ($0.51). Mercer International had a negative return on equity of 81.16% and a negative net margin of 26.65%.The firm had revenue of $449.50 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $459.84 million. Equities research analysts forecast that Mercer International will post -2.26 EPS for the current fiscal year.

About Mercer International

Mercer International Inc is a publicly traded pulp producer headquartered in Vancouver, British Columbia. Listed on the NASDAQ under the symbol MERC, the company specializes in the manufacture of Northern Bleached Softwood Kraft (NBSK) pulp and dissolving pulp for use in tissue, specialty paper and textile applications.

Mercer’s core business activities include the operation of integrated pulp mills in North America and Europe. Its production portfolio encompasses NBSK pulp, renowned for its strength and versatility, and dissolving pulp, which serves as a key raw material in the manufacture of viscose, cellulose acetate and other specialty products.

The company’s facilities are located in British Columbia and the U.S.