Insider Buying: Mercer International Inc. (NASDAQ:MERC) Director Acquires $31,200.00 in Stock

Mercer International Inc. (NASDAQ:MERC) (TSE:MRI.U) Director Rainer Rettig bought 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 9th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $6.24 per share, with a total value of $31,200.00. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 42,463 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $264,969.12. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link.

Rainer Rettig also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Wednesday, September 11th, Rainer Rettig acquired 4,000 shares of Mercer International stock. The stock was acquired at an average price of $6.10 per share, with a total value of $24,400.00.

Mercer International Stock Performance

MERC stock opened at $6.13 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 2.17, a current ratio of 3.46 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.22. Mercer International Inc. has a twelve month low of $5.33 and a twelve month high of $11.20. The company has a market cap of $409.91 million, a P/E ratio of -1.79 and a beta of 1.34. The business has a fifty day moving average of $6.97 and a 200-day moving average of $8.67.

Mercer International (NASDAQ:MERC) (TSE:MRI.U) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 8th. The basic materials company reported ($0.50) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.42) by ($0.08). The firm had revenue of $499.40 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $482.35 million. Mercer International had a negative return on equity of 17.93% and a negative net margin of 9.90%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 5.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted ($1.48) earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Mercer International Inc. will post -1.15 EPS for the current year.

Mercer International Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 3rd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, September 25th will be paid a $0.075 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, September 25th. This represents a $0.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.89%. Mercer International’s payout ratio is presently -8.75%.

Institutional Trading of Mercer International

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Everence Capital Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Mercer International in the 1st quarter worth $261,000. Russell Investments Group Ltd. acquired a new position in Mercer International in the first quarter valued at about $193,000. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC raised its position in shares of Mercer International by 26.5% during the first quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 51,201 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $509,000 after purchasing an additional 10,713 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 85.79% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MERC has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their target price on Mercer International from $10.00 to $8.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, August 12th. StockNews.com raised shares of Mercer International from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, August 15th. Finally, CIBC dropped their target price on shares of Mercer International from $10.00 to $8.50 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, August 13th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $9.38.

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.