Traders Purchase High Volume of Mercer International Call Options (NASDAQ:MERC)

Mercer International Inc. (NASDAQ:MERC - Get Free Report) TSE: MRI.U was the target of unusually large options trading on Wednesday. Traders bought 30,015 call options on the stock. This represents an increase of approximately 3,940% compared to the average daily volume of 743 call options.

Mercer International Price Performance

Shares of MERC traded down $0.07 on Monday, hitting $5.12. The company's stock had a trading volume of 406,423 shares, compared to its average volume of 377,057. The company has a market capitalization of $342.38 million, a PE ratio of -4.03 and a beta of 1.26. Mercer International has a fifty-two week low of $4.74 and a fifty-two week high of $11.20. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $6.49 and a 200 day moving average price of $6.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.09, a current ratio of 3.79 and a quick ratio of 2.39.

Mercer International (NASDAQ:MERC - Get Free Report) TSE: MRI.U last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 20th. The basic materials company reported $0.25 EPS 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 company had revenue of $488.41 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $497.00 million. On average, research analysts anticipate that Mercer International will post -0.29 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Mercer International Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 2nd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, March 26th were given a $0.075 dividend. This represents a $0.30 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.86%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 26th. Mercer International's payout ratio is presently -23.62%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, Raymond James dropped their price objective on Mercer International from $7.50 to $7.00 in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $8.25.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Mercer International

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. BNP Paribas Financial Markets increased its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 6,786 shares in the last quarter. 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 valued at $3,559,000 after buying an additional 8,957 shares during the period. Entropy Technologies LP increased its stake in shares of Mercer International by 56.0% in the 4th quarter. Entropy Technologies LP now owns 17,270 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $112,000 after buying an additional 6,200 shares during the period. Finally, KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS bought a new stake in shares of Mercer International during the fourth quarter worth $58,000. 85.79% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.