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

Mercer International Inc. (NASDAQ:MERC) (TSE:MRI.U) announced a quarterly dividend on Thursday, February 20th, RTT News reports. Shareholders 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 yield of 4.56%.

Mercer International has increased its dividend by an average of 4.9% per year over the last three years. Mercer International has a payout ratio of 103.4% indicating that the company cannot currently cover its dividend with earnings alone and is relying on its balance sheet to cover its dividend payments. Research 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 Performance

NASDAQ MERC opened at $6.58 on Friday. Mercer International has a 12 month low of $5.33 and a 12 month high of $11.20. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $6.52 and its two-hundred day moving average is $6.46. The company has a quick ratio of 2.39, a current ratio of 3.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.09.

Mercer International (NASDAQ:MERC) (TSE:MRI.U) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 20th. The basic materials company reported $0.25 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.02 by $0.23. Mercer International had a negative net margin of 9.33% and a negative return on equity of 17.62%. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Mercer International will post -1.44 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on MERC shares. Raymond James cut their price objective on Mercer International from $7.50 to $7.00 in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and set a $7.00 price target on shares of Mercer International in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price 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.