Mercer International Inc. (NASDAQ:MERC) Sees Large Decline in Short Interest

Mercer International Inc. (NASDAQ:MERC) (TSE:MRI.U) saw a large decline in short interest in March. As of March 15th, there was short interest totalling 399,000 shares, a decline of 22.8% from the February 28th total of 516,800 shares. Approximately 1.0% of the shares of the stock are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 332,900 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 1.2 days.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, Raymond James cut their target price on shares of Mercer International from $7.50 to $7.00 in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $8.25.

Mercer International Price Performance

MERC stock traded down $0.00 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $5.99. The stock had a trading volume of 63,156 shares, compared to its average volume of 361,466. 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 3.79, a quick ratio of 2.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.09. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $6.78 and its 200 day simple moving average is $6.61. The company has a market cap of $400.49 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -4.70 and a beta of 1.20.

Mercer International (NASDAQ:MERC) (TSE:MRI.U) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 20th. The basic materials company reported $0.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.02 by $0.23. Mercer International had a negative net margin of 4.17% and a negative return on equity of 5.18%. The company had revenue of $488.41 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $497.00 million. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Mercer International will post -0.29 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Mercer International Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 2nd. Investors of record on Wednesday, March 26th will be issued a $0.075 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, March 26th. This represents a $0.30 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.01%. Mercer International’s dividend payout ratio is presently -23.62%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Mercer International

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Mercer International by 1.7% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 525,532 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $3,559,000 after acquiring an additional 8,957 shares during the last quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP grew its holdings in shares of Mercer International by 505.8% in the third quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP now owns 49,483 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $335,000 after purchasing an additional 41,315 shares during the period. BNP Paribas Financial Markets increased its position in Mercer International by 22.7% during the third quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 36,661 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $248,000 after purchasing an additional 6,786 shares during the last quarter. Entropy Technologies LP raised its stake in Mercer International by 56.0% during the fourth quarter. Entropy Technologies LP now owns 17,270 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $112,000 after purchasing an additional 6,200 shares during the period. Finally, KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS acquired a new position in Mercer International in the 4th quarter valued at about $58,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.79% of the company’s stock.

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.