Mercer International (NASDAQ:MERC) Shares Gap Up After Better-Than-Expected Earnings

Mercer International Inc. (NASDAQ:MERC - Get Free Report) TSE: MRI.U shares gapped up before the market opened on Friday after the company announced better than expected quarterly earnings. The stock had previously closed at $6.58, but opened at $6.98. Mercer International shares last traded at $7.40, with a volume of 489,487 shares changing hands.

The basic materials company reported $0.25 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.02 by $0.23. Mercer International had a negative return on equity of 5.18% and a negative net margin of 4.17%. The business had revenue of $488.41 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $497.00 million.

Mercer International Announces Dividend

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 issued a dividend of $0.075 per share. This represents a $0.30 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.80%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, March 26th. Mercer International's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -23.62%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently commented on MERC. Royal Bank of Canada restated a "sector perform" rating and set a $7.00 target price on shares of Mercer International in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Raymond James dropped their price objective on Mercer International from $7.50 to $7.00 in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $8.25.

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Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of MERC. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS acquired a new stake in Mercer International during the 4th quarter worth $58,000. Entropy Technologies LP boosted 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 acquiring an additional 6,200 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in 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 valued at $3,559,000 after acquiring an additional 8,957 shares in the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets raised its holdings in Mercer International by 22.7% in the 3rd 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 during the last quarter. Finally, Quantbot Technologies LP lifted its stake in Mercer International by 505.8% in the 3rd quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP now owns 49,483 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $335,000 after purchasing an additional 41,315 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.79% of the company's stock.

Mercer International Trading Down 0.1 %

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 has a fifty day moving average price of $6.57 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $6.48. The firm has a market capitalization of $528.28 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -6.22 and a beta of 1.29.

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.