Walthausen & Company Has Increased Mercer Int’l (MERC) Stake By $1.36 Million; First Community (FCCO) Has 1 Sentiment

August 24, 2017 - By Winifred Garcia

Walthausen & Company increased Mercer Int’l Inc (MERC) stake by 15.12% reported in 2016Q4 SEC filing. Walthausen & Company acquired 136,144 shares as Mercer Int’l Inc (MERC)’s stock declined 10.80%. The Walthausen & Company holds 1.04 million shares with $11.04M value, up from 900,213 last quarter. Mercer Int’l Inc now has $718.38M valuation. The stock declined 0.46% or $0.05 reaching $10.85 on the news. About 4,957 shares traded. Mercer International Inc. (NASDAQ:MERC) has risen 25.28% since August 24, 2016 and is uptrending. It has outperformed by 8.58% the S&P500.

First Community Corporation is a bank holding firm for First Community Bank . The company has market cap of $139.64 million. The Bank offers commercial and retail banking services to small-to-medium sized businesses, professional concerns and individuals, primarily in Richland, Lexington, Kershaw and Newberry Counties of South Carolina and the surrounding areas. It has a 20.62 P/E ratio. The Bank offers a range of traditional banking services and products for professionals and small-to medium-sized businesses, including consumer and commercial, mortgage, brokerage and investment, and insurance services.

Elizabeth Park Capital Advisors Ltd. holds 1.65% of its portfolio in First Community Corporation for 214,711 shares. Fj Capital Management Llc owns 324,100 shares or 0.87% of their US portfolio. Moreover, Maltese Capital Management Llc has 0.49% invested in the company for 302,571 shares. The New York-based Mendon Capital Advisors Corp has invested 0.41% in the stock. Rmb Capital Management Llc, a Illinois-based fund reported 317,545 shares.

Since January 1, 0001, it had 0 insider purchases, and 1 insider sale for $131,269 activity.

It is down 43.56% since August 24, 2016 and is uptrending. It has outperformed by 26.86% the S&P500.

Walthausen & Company decreased First Financial Bancorp (NASDAQ:FFBC) stake by 98,170 shares to 434,162 valued at $12.35 million in 2016Q4. It also reduced Tutor Perini Corp (NYSE:TPC) stake by 182,800 shares and now owns 406,510 shares. Essent Group Limited (NYSE:ESNT) was reduced too.

Investors sentiment decreased to 0.84 in Q4 2016. Its down 0.66, from 1.5 in 2016Q3. It worsened, as 14 investors sold MERC shares while 30 reduced holdings. 11 funds opened positions while 26 raised stakes. 52.10 million shares or 0.20% less from 52.20 million shares in 2016Q3 were reported. 1St Glob Advsrs has 0.05% invested in Mercer International Inc. (NASDAQ:MERC). Credit Agricole S A owns 132,109 shares or 0% of their US portfolio. Blackrock Institutional Na has 414,075 shares. Iat Reinsurance Limited invested 30.2% in Mercer International Inc. (NASDAQ:MERC). 34,732 are held by Renaissance Limited Liability. Swiss Bank & Trust stated it has 74,872 shares. 124,048 were reported by Jpmorgan Chase And Co. Nuveen Asset Management Llc, a Illinois-based fund reported 33,262 shares. Northern Trust Corp accumulated 0% or 1.15M shares. One Trading LP owns 4,842 shares. Acadian Asset Mngmt Limited Company reported 891,859 shares. Vanguard stated it has 0% in Mercer International Inc. (NASDAQ:MERC). Wells Fargo And Mn holds 449,530 shares. 27,645 are held by Royal Financial Bank Of Canada. Sensato Invsts Ltd Company, California-based fund reported 897,202 shares.

Among 6 analysts covering Mercer Intl (NASDAQ:MERC), 3 have Buy rating, 0 Sell and 3 Hold. Therefore 50% are positive. Mercer Intl had 12 analyst reports since August 26, 2015 according to SRatingsIntel. The firm has “Buy” rating given on Tuesday, April 26 by Standpoint Research. The company was downgraded on Wednesday, January 27 by Raymond James. The rating was downgraded by Standpoint Research to “Hold” on Monday, January 23. The stock of Mercer International Inc. (NASDAQ:MERC) has “Sector Perform” rating given on Friday, January 6 by RBC Capital Markets. On Friday, April 29 the stock rating was downgraded by TD Securities to “Hold”. The stock of Mercer International Inc. (NASDAQ:MERC) earned “Buy” rating by Sidoti on Wednesday, January 13. RBC Capital Markets maintained it with “Outperform” rating and $12 target in Tuesday, February 16 report. The firm has “Hold” rating given on Thursday, July 27 by RBC Capital Markets. Raymond James upgraded the stock to “Outperform” rating in Wednesday, August 26 report. On Monday, November 2 the stock rating was upgraded by Credit Suisse to “Outperform”.

Since May 2, 2017, it had 8 insider purchases, and 1 insider sale for $2.07 million activity. KELLOGG PETER R bought 36,026 shares worth $408,904. Another trade for 6,000 shares valued at $66,900 was sold by Lauritzen Eric.