Mercer International Inc. to Issue Quarterly Dividend of $0.08 (NASDAQ:MERC)

Mercer International Inc. (NASDAQ:MERC) (TSE:MRI.U) declared a quarterly dividend on Thursday, October 31st, Zacks reports. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, December 18th will be given a dividend of 0.075 per share by the basic materials company on Thursday, December 26th. This represents a $0.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.66%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, December 18th.

Mercer International has decreased its dividend payment by an average of 3.4% per year over the last three years. Mercer International has a dividend payout ratio of -375.0% meaning the company cannot currently cover its dividend with earnings alone and is relying on its balance sheet to cover its dividend payments. Research analysts expect Mercer International to earn ($0.07) per share next year, which means the company may not be able to cover its $0.30 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of -428.6%.

Mercer International Stock Performance

NASDAQ:MERC traded down $0.08 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $6.44. The stock had a trading volume of 672,553 shares, compared to its average volume of 358,226. The stock has a market capitalization of $430.65 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -2.28 and a beta of 1.34. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $6.48 and a 200-day simple moving average of $7.90. Mercer International has a 52 week low of $5.33 and a 52 week high of $11.20. The company has a current ratio of 3.46, a quick ratio of 2.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.22.

Mercer International (NASDAQ:MERC) (TSE:MRI.U) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The basic materials company reported ($0.26) earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.29) by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $502.14 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $485.84 million. Mercer International had a negative net margin of 9.90% and a negative return on equity of 17.93%. Mercer International’s quarterly revenue was up 6.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted ($0.39) EPS. On average, research analysts expect that Mercer International will post -1.78 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on MERC shares. CIBC lowered their price objective on shares of Mercer International from $10.00 to $8.50 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, August 13th. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their target price on shares of Mercer International from $10.00 to $8.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, August 12th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Mercer International from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, According to MarketBeat, Mercer International presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $9.38.

Insider Buying and Selling at Mercer International

In other 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 bought at an average price of $6.60 per share, with a total value of $51,480.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 67,615 shares in the company, valued at $446,259. This trade represents a 0.00 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other 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 bought at an average price of $6.60 per share, with a total value of $51,480.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 67,615 shares in the company, valued at $446,259. This trade represents a 0.00 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Rainer Rettig bought 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 9th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $6.24 per share, for a total transaction of $31,200.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 42,463 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $264,969.12. This trade represents a 0.00 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders acquired 41,300 shares of company stock worth $252,650 over the last ninety days. 4.20% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.