Mercer International Inc. (NASDAQ:MERC) Short Interest Down 22.1% in November

Mercer International Inc. (NASDAQ:MERC) (TSE:MRI.U) was the target of a large drop in short interest in November. As of November 15th, there was short interest totalling 383,300 shares, a drop of 22.1% from the October 31st total of 492,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 612,500 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 0.6 days. Approximately 1.0% of the shares of the stock are sold short.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. StockNews.com raised shares of Mercer International from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, October 18th. CIBC lowered their price objective on Mercer International from $10.00 to $8.50 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, August 13th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and set a $7.00 target price on shares of Mercer International in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Mercer International has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $9.13.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP Wolfgang Beck purchased 18,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 3rd. The shares were purchased at an average price of $6.02 per share, with a total value of $111,370.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 26,263 shares in the company, valued at $158,103.26. The trade was a 238.31 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Estrada Juan Carlos Bueno acquired 7,800 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 13th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $6.60 per share, with a total value of $51,480.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 67,615 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $446,259. The trade was a 13.04 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders have acquired 41,300 shares of company stock valued at $252,650 in the last ninety days. 4.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Mercer International

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Russell Investments Group Ltd. purchased a new position in Mercer International during the 1st quarter valued at about $193,000. Entropy Technologies LP acquired a new stake in shares of Mercer International during the third quarter worth about $75,000. Quantbot Technologies LP boosted its stake in shares of 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. BNP Paribas Financial Markets grew 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. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC increased 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 worth $3,559,000 after buying an additional 8,957 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.79% of the company’s stock.

Mercer International Trading Down 0.6 %

Shares of MERC traded down $0.04 during trading on Friday, reaching $6.17. 105,639 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 302,958. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $6.57 and a 200-day simple moving average of $7.34. The stock has a market cap of $412.59 million, a PE ratio of -2.18 and a beta of 1.35. Mercer International has a twelve month low of $5.33 and a twelve month high of $11.20. The company has a quick ratio of 2.39, a current ratio of 3.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.09.

Mercer International (NASDAQ:MERC) (TSE:MRI.U) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The basic materials company reported ($0.26) earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.29) by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $502.14 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $485.84 million. Mercer International had a negative net margin of 9.33% and a negative return on equity of 17.62%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned ($0.39) EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that Mercer International will post -1.62 earnings per share for the current year.

Mercer International Dividend Announcement

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 paid a $0.075 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, December 18th. This represents a $0.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.86%. Mercer International’s payout ratio is presently -10.60%.

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.