Mercer International Inc. (NASDAQ:MERC) Plans $0.08 Quarterly Dividend

Mercer International Inc. (NASDAQ:MERC) (TSE:MRI.U) announced a quarterly dividend on Thursday, February 20th, RTT News reports. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, March 26th will be given a dividend of 0.075 per share by the basic materials company on Wednesday, April 2nd. This represents a $0.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.56%.

Mercer International has increased its dividend payment by an average of 4.9% annually over the last three years. Mercer International has a payout ratio of 103.4% meaning the company cannot currently cover its dividend with earnings alone and is relying on its balance sheet to cover its dividend payments. Analysts expect Mercer International to earn ($0.29) per share next year, which means the company may not be able to cover its $0.30 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of -103.4%.

Mercer International Stock Up 1.2 %

NASDAQ:MERC traded up $0.08 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $6.58. 414,096 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 233,579. The business has a 50-day moving average of $6.52 and a two-hundred day moving average of $6.46. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.09, a quick ratio of 2.39 and a current ratio of 3.79. Mercer International has a 12-month low of $5.33 and a 12-month high of $11.20. The stock has a market capitalization of $440.00 million, a PE ratio of -2.33 and a beta of 1.29.

Mercer International (NASDAQ:MERC) (TSE:MRI.U) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The basic materials company reported $0.25 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.02 by $0.23. Mercer International had a negative return on equity of 17.62% and a negative net margin of 9.33%. On average, equities analysts forecast that Mercer International will post -1.44 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MERC has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Raymond James dropped their price objective on shares of Mercer International from $7.50 to $7.00 in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and set a $7.00 price target on shares of Mercer International in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $8.25.

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.