Short Interest in Mercer International Inc. (NASDAQ:MERC) Decreases By 22.8%

Mercer International Inc. (NASDAQ:MERC - Get Free Report) TSE: MRI.U was the target of a significant decrease in short interest in the month of March. As of March 15th, there was short interest totalling 399,000 shares, a decrease of 22.8% from the February 28th total of 516,800 shares. Currently, 1.0% of the shares of the company are sold short. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 332,900 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 1.2 days.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Mercer International

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of MERC. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS acquired a new position in Mercer International during the fourth quarter worth about $58,000. Entropy Technologies LP increased its position 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 buying an additional 6,200 shares in the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets lifted its position in shares of Mercer International by 22.7% in the third quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 36,661 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $248,000 after acquiring an additional 6,786 shares in the last quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP lifted its stake in shares of Mercer International by 505.8% during the third 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 period. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Mercer International by 1.7% during the 3rd 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. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.79% of the company's stock.

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Analyst Ratings Changes

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

Mercer International Price Performance

Shares of MERC traded down $0.28 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $4.99. The company's stock had a trading volume of 220,795 shares, compared to its average volume of 366,311. The company has a current ratio of 3.79, a quick ratio of 2.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.09. Mercer International has a 1-year low of $4.75 and a 1-year high of $11.20. The firm has a market capitalization of $333.42 million, a P/E ratio of -3.89 and a beta of 1.26. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $6.72 and a 200 day simple moving average of $6.59.

Mercer International (NASDAQ:MERC - Get Free Report) TSE: MRI.U last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The basic materials company reported $0.25 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.02 by $0.23. The company had revenue of $488.41 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $497.00 million. Mercer International had a negative net margin of 4.17% and a negative return on equity of 5.18%. Analysts predict that Mercer International will post -0.29 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Mercer International Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 2nd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, March 26th were given a dividend of $0.075 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 26th. This represents a $0.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.02%. Mercer International's payout ratio is -23.62%.

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.