Short Interest in Mercer International Inc. (NASDAQ:MERC) Drops By 20.3%

Mercer International Inc. (NASDAQ:MERC) (TSE:MRI.U) was the recipient of a significant decline in short interest in December. As of December 15th, there was short interest totalling 337,500 shares, a decline of 20.3% from the November 30th total of 423,300 shares. Currently, 0.9% of the company’s stock are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 394,400 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 0.9 days.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on MERC. StockNews.com raised Mercer International from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $7.00 target price on shares of Mercer International in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $9.13.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of MERC. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Mercer International by 1.7% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 525,532 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $3,559,000 after purchasing an additional 8,957 shares during the period. Quantbot Technologies LP grew its holdings in Mercer International by 505.8% in the 3rd quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP now owns 49,483 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $335,000 after buying an additional 41,315 shares during the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets increased its position in Mercer International by 22.7% in the 3rd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 36,661 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $248,000 after buying an additional 6,786 shares during the period. Finally, Entropy Technologies LP acquired a new position in shares of Mercer International during the third quarter worth approximately $75,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.79% of the company’s stock.

Mercer International Stock Up 0.3 %

Shares of MERC traded up $0.02 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $6.50. 239,779 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 353,057. 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 company has a market cap of $434.66 million, a PE ratio of -2.30 and a beta of 1.32. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $6.42 and its 200-day moving average is $6.88. Mercer International has a 52 week low of $5.33 and a 52 week high of $11.20.

Mercer International (NASDAQ:MERC) (TSE:MRI.U) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The basic materials company reported ($0.26) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.29) by $0.03. Mercer International had a negative return on equity of 17.62% and a negative net margin of 9.33%. The firm had revenue of $502.14 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $485.84 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned ($0.39) earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 6.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Mercer International will post -1.62 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Mercer International Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 26th. Investors of record on Wednesday, December 18th were issued a $0.075 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, December 18th. This represents a $0.30 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.62%. Mercer International’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -10.60%.

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.