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Mercer International (MERC) Dips More Than Broader Markets: What You Should Know

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Mercer International (MERC - Free Report) closed the most recent trading day at $16.14, moving -1.88% from the previous trading session. This change lagged the S&P 500's daily loss of 1.07%. Elsewhere, the Dow lost 1.07%, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq lost 0.03%.

Prior to today's trading, shares of the pulp company had gained 9.89% over the past month. This has outpaced the Basic Materials sector's loss of 2.95% and the S&P 500's loss of 3.49% in that time.

Wall Street will be looking for positivity from Mercer International as it approaches its next earnings report date. In that report, analysts expect Mercer International to post earnings of $1.05 per share. This would mark year-over-year growth of 0.96%.

Investors might also notice recent changes to analyst estimates for Mercer International. These revisions help to show the ever-changing nature of near-term business trends. With this in mind, we can consider positive estimate revisions a sign of optimism about the company's business outlook.

Our research shows that these estimate changes are directly correlated with near-term stock prices. Investors can capitalize on this by using the Zacks Rank. This model considers these estimate changes and provides a simple, actionable rating system.

The Zacks Rank system, which ranges from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell), has an impressive outside-audited track record of outperformance, with #1 stocks generating an average annual return of +25% since 1988. The Zacks Consensus EPS estimate remained stagnant within the past month. Mercer International is currently a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy).

Investors should also note Mercer International's current valuation metrics, including its Forward P/E ratio of 4.05. This valuation marks a discount compared to its industry's average Forward P/E of 7.72.

The Paper and Related Products industry is part of the Basic Materials sector. This group has a Zacks Industry Rank of 47, putting it in the top 19% of all 250+ industries.

The Zacks Industry Rank gauges the strength of our industry groups by measuring the average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks within the groups. Our research shows that the top 50% rated industries outperform the bottom half by a factor of 2 to 1.

Be sure to follow all of these stock-moving metrics, and many more, on Zacks.com.


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