Mercer International (NASDAQ:MERC) Announces Quarterly Earnings Results

Mercer International (NASDAQ:MERC) (TSE:MRI.U) announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday. The basic materials company reported ($0.26) earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.29) by $0.03, Briefing.com reports. The company had revenue of $502.14 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $485.84 million. Mercer International had a negative net margin of 9.90% and a negative return on equity of 17.93%. The business’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) earnings per share.

Mercer International Stock Down 1.2 %

NASDAQ:MERC opened at $6.44 on Friday. The stock 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 market cap of $430.65 million, a PE ratio of -2.28 and a beta of 1.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.22, a quick ratio of 2.17 and a current ratio of 3.46.

Mercer International Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 26th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, December 18th will be given a dividend of $0.075 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, December 18th. This represents a $0.30 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.66%. Mercer International’s dividend payout ratio is currently -10.60%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Mercer International

In other Mercer International news, CEO Estrada Juan Carlos Bueno bought 7,800 shares of Mercer International stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 13th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $6.60 per share, for a total transaction of $51,480.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer now owns 67,615 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $446,259. This trade represents a 0.00 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, CFO Richard George Short purchased 6,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, September 6th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $5.70 per share, for a total transaction of $34,200.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief financial officer now directly owns 51,382 shares in the company, valued at $292,877.40. This trade represents a 0.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Estrada Juan Carlos Bueno purchased 7,800 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, September 13th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $6.60 per share, with a total value of $51,480.00. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer now owns 67,615 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $446,259. The trade was a 0.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have bought 41,300 shares of company stock worth $252,650. Corporate insiders own 4.20% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have issued reports on MERC shares. CIBC decreased their target price on Mercer International from $10.00 to $8.50 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, August 13th. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their target price on Mercer International from $10.00 to $8.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, August 12th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Mercer International from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, Based on data from MarketBeat, Mercer International has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $9.38.

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.