Bridgeway Capital Management LLC Grows Position in MRC Global Inc. $MRC

Key Points

• Bridgeway Capital Management LLC increased its stake in MRC Global Inc. by 15.3% during the first quarter, acquiring an additional 91,680 shares, bringing its total ownership to approximately $7.95 million.
• Several other investors also made significant increases in their holdings in MRC Global, with 94.97% of the stock now owned by institutional investors.
• MRC Global reported better-than-expected quarterly earnings, with an EPS of $0.25, exceeding analysts' estimates of $0.23, despite a 4.1% decline in revenue compared to the previous year.

Bridgeway Capital Management LLC raised its stake in MRC Global Inc. (NYSE:MRC - Free Report) by 15.3% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 692,694 shares of the oil and gas company's stock after acquiring an additional 91,680 shares during the quarter. Bridgeway Capital Management LLC owned approximately 0.80% of MRC Global worth $7,952,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. EP Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of MRC Global by 14.0% during the 1st quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 17,885 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $205,000 after purchasing an additional 2,203 shares in the last quarter. State of Wyoming lifted its stake in MRC Global by 89.1% in the first quarter. State of Wyoming now owns 54,650 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $627,000 after acquiring an additional 25,756 shares during the period. Cramer Rosenthal Mcglynn LLC boosted its stake in shares of MRC Global by 64.0% during the 1st quarter. Cramer Rosenthal Mcglynn LLC now owns 1,303,210 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $14,961,000 after purchasing an additional 508,723 shares in the last quarter. Virtus Advisers LLC bought a new position in shares of MRC Global in the 1st quarter worth approximately $139,000. Finally, Comerica Bank lifted its position in MRC Global by 6.1% during the first quarter. Comerica Bank now owns 72,932 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $837,000 after buying an additional 4,172 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 94.97% of the company's stock.

MRC Global Trading Down 0.8%

Shares of MRC Global stock traded down $0.12 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $14.71. The stock had a trading volume of 94,136 shares, compared to its average volume of 829,069. MRC Global Inc. has a 12 month low of $9.23 and a 12 month high of $15.59. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83, a current ratio of 1.84 and a quick ratio of 1.00. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $14.15 and its 200-day simple moving average is $12.71. The stock has a market cap of $1.25 billion, a PE ratio of -61.35 and a beta of 1.72.

MRC Global (NYSE:MRC - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The oil and gas company reported $0.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.23 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $798.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $784.60 million. MRC Global had a negative net margin of 0.10% and a positive return on equity of 11.81%. The business's revenue was down 4.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.28 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that MRC Global Inc. will post 0.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on MRC shares. Wall Street Zen raised MRC Global from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, June 6th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price objective on shares of MRC Global from $17.00 to $16.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, July 21st. Zacks Research upgraded MRC Global to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, August 8th. Finally, Susquehanna upped their price objective on MRC Global from $14.00 to $15.00 and gave the stock a "positive" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 7th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, MRC Global has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $16.00.

About MRC Global

MRC Global Inc, through its subsidiaries, distributes pipes, valves, fittings, and other infrastructure products and services in the United States, Canada, and internationally. It offers ball, butterfly, gate, globe, check, diaphragm, needle, and plug valves; other products, such as lined corrosion resistant piping systems, control valves, valve automation, and top work components; and valve modification services, including valve control extensions, welding, hydrotesting, painting, coating, x-raying, and actuation assembly.