Short Interest in Mercer International Inc. (NASDAQ:MERC) Declines By 22.1%

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

Mercer International Price Performance

NASDAQ MERC traded down $0.04 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $6.17. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 105,639 shares, compared to its average volume of 302,958. The firm has a market capitalization of $412.59 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -2.18 and a beta of 1.35. The company’s 50-day moving average is $6.57 and its two-hundred day moving average is $7.34. 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 has a 1-year low of $5.33 and a 1-year high of $11.20.

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

Mercer International Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 26th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, December 18th will be issued a dividend of $0.075 per share. This represents a $0.30 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.86%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, December 18th. Mercer International’s payout ratio is -10.60%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Mercer International news, Director Rainer Rettig acquired 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 9th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $6.24 per share, for a total transaction of $31,200.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 42,463 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $264,969.12. The trade was a 13.35 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Estrada Juan Carlos Bueno bought 7,800 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 13th. The shares were acquired 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 directly owns 67,615 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $446,259. This trade represents a 13.04 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders bought 41,300 shares of company stock valued at $252,650. 4.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of MERC. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in 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 worth $3,559,000 after buying an additional 8,957 shares during the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets boosted its stake 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 worth $248,000 after acquiring an additional 6,786 shares during the last quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP increased its position 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 worth $335,000 after purchasing an additional 41,315 shares in the last quarter. Entropy Technologies LP acquired a new position in Mercer International in the 3rd quarter valued at $75,000. Finally, Russell Investments Group Ltd. acquired a new position in Mercer International in the 1st quarter valued at $193,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.79% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

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.