Mercer International (NASDAQ:MERC) Announces Earnings Results

Mercer International (NASDAQ:MERC) (TSE:MRI.U) issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday. The basic materials company reported $0.25 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.02 by $0.23, Zacks reports. Mercer International had a negative return on equity of 17.62% and a negative net margin of 9.33%.

Mercer International Stock Up 1.2 %

Shares of MERC traded up $0.08 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $6.58. The stock had a trading volume of 414,096 shares, compared to its average volume of 233,579. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.09, a current ratio of 3.79 and a quick ratio of 2.39. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $6.52 and a 200-day simple moving average of $6.46. The firm has a market capitalization of $440.00 million, a P/E ratio of -2.33 and a beta of 1.29. Mercer International has a 1-year low of $5.33 and a 1-year high of $11.20.

Mercer International Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 2nd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, March 26th will be paid a $0.075 dividend. This represents a $0.30 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.56%. Mercer International’s dividend payout ratio is presently -10.60%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have weighed in on MERC shares. Raymond James decreased their price target on Mercer International from $7.50 to $7.00 in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Royal Bank of Canada restated 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, Based on data from MarketBeat, Mercer International presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $8.25.

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.