Mercer International Inc. (NASDAQ:MERC) Director Rainer Rettig Purchases 4,000 Shares of Stock

Mercer International Inc. (NASDAQ:MERC) (TSE:MRI.U) Director Rainer Rettig bought 4,000 shares of Mercer International stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 11th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $6.10 per share, with a total value of $24,400.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 46,463 shares in the company, valued at approximately $283,424.30. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link.

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

• On Monday, September 9th, Rainer Rettig bought 5,000 shares of Mercer International stock. The stock was bought at an average cost of $6.24 per share, with a total value of $31,200.00.

Mercer International Price Performance

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

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

Mercer International Announces Dividend

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently commented on the company. Royal Bank of Canada cut their price objective on Mercer International from $10.00 to $8.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, August 12th. StockNews.com upgraded Mercer International from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 15th. Finally, CIBC lowered their price objective on shares of Mercer International from $10.00 to $8.50 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, August 13th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $9.38.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of MERC. Everence Capital Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Mercer International during the first quarter worth about $261,000. Russell Investments Group Ltd. purchased a new stake in Mercer International in the 1st quarter worth $193,000. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Mercer International by 26.5% during the 1st quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 51,201 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $509,000 after purchasing an additional 10,713 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.79% of the company’s stock.

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.