This week I'm seeking a high-yield and growing stock from the basic materials sector. 

That materials sector includes thirteen industries all related to mining, making and delivering essential commodities. The industries are: agricultural inputs; aluminum; building materials; chemicals; coal; copper; industrial metals and minerals; paper; silver; specialty chemicals; steel.

Today I'm reviewing a small-cap paper and paper products firm named Mercer International Inc. Its trading ticker symbol is MERC.

Mercer International Inc operates in the pulp business and its operations are located in Germany and Western Canada. The Company is a producer of market northern bleached softwood kraft, or NBSK, pulp for the world market.

The company operates in two segments, Pulp and Wood Products. It produces NBSK pulp primarily from wood chips and pulp logs; carbon neutral or green energy using carbon-neutral bio-fuels, such as black liquor and wood waste; and tall oil for use as a chemical additive and green energy source. 

The company also generates and sells green energy produced from bio-mass cogeneration power plant to third-party utilities. In addition, it manufactures, distributes, and sells lumber and other wood residuals. 

The company sells its pulp to tissue, specialty papers, printing and writing paper, and other manufacturers; and wood products to distributors, construction firms, secondary manufacturers, retail yards, and home centers. 

Mercer International Inc. was founded in 1968 and is headquartered in Vancouver, Canada.

I use three key data points to gauge the value of any dividend equity or fund likeMercer International Inc. (MERC): 

(1) Price

(2) Dividends

(3) Returns

Besides those three, four more keys will finally unlock an equity or fund in which to invest.

But those first three primary keys, best tell whether a company has made, is making, and will make money. 

MERC Price

Mercer's price per share was $18.00 at yesterday's market close. A year ago its price was $11.25 for a gain of $6.75 per share.  

Assuming Mercer's price will trade in the range of $10 to $25 next year, perhaps that $6.75 gain could be realized again in the coming year and moveMercer's current $18.00 price to $24.75 by late-August, 2019. 

MERC Dividends

 Mercer's most recent quarterly dividend was $0.125 declared July 26th and payable October 3rd. At this most recent quarterly pay rate, Mercer's annual dividend is calculated at $0.50 yielding 2.8% at yesterday's closing $18.00 price.

Gains For MERC?

Adding the $0.50 estimated annual dividend to the $6.75 year over year price gain for Mercer makes a $7.25gross annual per share gain, which will be reduced by costs to trade the shares.  

A little over $1,000.00 invested today at the $18.00 recent price buys 56 Mercer International Inc. (MERC) shares. 

A $10 broker fee paid half at purchase and half at sale costs $0.18 per share, subtracting that $0.18 brokerage cost from the estimated $7.25 gross gain leaves a net gain of $7.07 X 56 shares = $395.92 or a 39.5% net gain on a $1,008.00 investment.

Therefore, Mercer International Inc. whose trading ticker symbol is MERC, now shows a possible 39.5% net gain including a 2.8% dividend yield. 

Six brokers cover this stock:

Two say "buy" MERC.

Four say MERC will "outperform" its peers.

Thus, the analyst consensus recommendation number is 1.7 or "outperform".

The median price target set by those six brokers is $2.83 under the $24.75 year over year price target I named. 

So, you could look at all those various numbers this way, Mercer International Inc. (MERC) has made money, is making money, and could net a 39.5% net annual gain including a 2,8% dividend yield. It could be more, it could be less

The above speculation is based on past year performance. Actual results remain to be seen. Those results will determine if Mercer International Inc. (MERC) is worth your time and money.