Mercer International Inc. (NASDAQ:MERC) Short Interest Update

Mercer International Inc. (NASDAQ:MERC) (TSE:MRI.U) was the recipient of a significant decline in short interest in the month of 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. Based on an average daily volume of 332,900 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 1.2 days. Approximately 1.0% of the shares of the company are short sold.

Mercer International Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ MERC traded up $0.02 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $5.94. 236,960 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 320,079. The stock has a market cap of $397.21 million, a P/E ratio of -4.68 and a beta of 1.20. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $6.76 and its 200 day simple moving average is $6.60. 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 12-month low of $5.33 and a 12-month high of $11.20.

Mercer International (NASDAQ:MERC) (TSE:MRI.U) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The basic materials company reported $0.25 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $497.00 million. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Mercer International will post -0.29 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Mercer International Announces Dividend

The company 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 dividend of $0.075 per share. This represents a $0.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.05%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, March 26th. Mercer International’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -23.62%.

Institutional Trading of Mercer International

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS acquired a new position in shares of Mercer International in the fourth quarter worth about $58,000. Entropy Technologies LP raised its holdings in Mercer International by 56.0% in the 4th 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. BNP Paribas Financial Markets boosted 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 in the last quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP grew its holdings in 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. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Mercer International by 1.7% in the third 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 in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.79% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

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.