The stock of Mercer International Inc. (NASDAQ:MERC) increased by $0.01 on Friday to finish at $7.95, up 0.13 percent. The last five days have seen an average of 627,560 shares of common stock traded. 11 times new highs were reached in the current year, with a fall of -$3.69. The average number of shares traded over the last 20 days was 693,655, while the average volume over the last 50 days totaled 738,172.
MERC stock dropped -13.30% since last month. On 08/04/23, the company’s shares reached a one-month low of $7.51. The stock touched a high of $17.50 on 02/03/23, after rallying from a low of $7.37 in 52 weeks. The price of MERC stock has declined by -31.70% or -$3.69 this year, reaching a new high 11 times. Still, the stock price is down -54.57% from the 52-week high.
Insider Transactions
MERC stock investors should be aware that Mercer International Inc. (MERC) stock had its last reported insider trading activity 353 days ago on Aug 26. On Aug 26, Director Rettig Rainer sold 12,000 shares at $16.34 each. This transaction resulted in the insider making $196,024. On Aug 16, Purchase Keith sold 10,000 shares at a price of US$17.01. After the transaction, the insider now owns 67,393 shares.
Valuation Metrics
Beta for the stock is 1.49. There are also a few other valuation ratios worth considering, including the trailing price-to-sales (P/S) ratio of 0.24, the price-to-book (PB) ratio of 0.72.
Company paid $0.0750 per share in dividends, remained unchanged from $0.0750 last year.
Financial Health
For the three months ended June 29, Mercer International Inc.’s quick ratio was 1.50, while its current ratio was 2.70, indicating its ability to pay off its debt. The company’s long-term debt to equity ratio for the quarter ending June 29 is 1.91, and the total debt to equity ratio is 1.92. As far as profitability goes, gross margin for the trailing twelve months is 10.10% percent. Mercer International Inc.’s EBITDA margin for the year ended June 29 was 23.52%, whereas its operating margin stood at 1.30% for the same period. Based on annual data, it had gross profit of $498.2 million and revenue of $2.28 billion.
Investors will also look at the performance of the company’s management in order to determine the potential profitability of their investment. MERC’s return on assets (ROA) during the last 12 months has been -1.60%. There was a 13.40% return on investment (ROI) in the past year. In the meantime, the return on equity (ROE) for the last 12 months was -5.40%.
Earnings Surprise
According to Mercer International Inc.’s quarterly financial report for the quarter that ended June 29. A higher net income was reported in the quarter under review than the previous quarter. Net income for the quarter came in at $529.86 million, while revenues fell by -8.02% to $522.67 million. It was predicted that Mercer International Inc.’s quarterly earnings would be $0.32, but it ended up being $0.45, beating the consensus by -28.90%. EBITDA was -$68.68 million for the quarter. At the end of Mercer International Inc.’s most recent quarter ended June 29, its liabilities totaled 1.9 billion, while its total debt was $1.43 billion.
Technical Picture
Here’s a quick look at Mercer International Inc.’s (MERC) price momentum from a technical perspective. As of 11 August, the RSI 9-day stood at 37.16%, suggesting the stock is Neutral, with a 78.21% historical volatility rate.
The stochastic %K and %D were 23.79% and 27.23% respectively, while the average true range (ATR) was 0.46. Based on the 14-day stochastic reading of 20.66%, the RSI (14) reading is 40.31%. On the 9-day MACD Oscillator, the stock is at -0.35, and the 14-day reading is at -0.48.
Analyst Ratings
Mercer International Inc. (NASDAQ: MERC) was downgraded by Raymond James to a a Mkt perform rating in its latest research report. The stock was previously rated as a an Outperform. Analysts have assigned Mercer International Inc. (MERC) an Hold rating. MERC is a stock that is recommended for selling by 1 brokerage firm, while 4 companies recommend holding. The stock is underweighted by 0 analysts. Among the analysts who rate the stock, 0 rates it overweight and 0 others recommend it as a buy.
What is MERC’s price target for the next 12 months?
The current consensus forecast for the stock is between $8.00 and $9.50, with a median target price of $9.00. In analyzing these forecasts, the average price target given by analysts for Mercer International Inc. (MERC) is $8.70.
