Lord Abbett & CO. LLC Boosts Holdings in MRC Global Inc. $MRC

Key Points

• Lord Abbett & CO. LLC significantly increased its stake in MRC Global Inc. by 336.0% during the first quarter, owning approximately 4.06% of the company after acquiring over 2.6 million additional shares.
• Other large investors, including Sterling Capital Management and GAMMA Investing LLC, also made substantial increases to their positions, contributing to nearly 95% institutional ownership of MRC Global stock.
• MRC Global reported a quarterly earnings per share (EPS) of $0.25, surpassing analysts' expectations, but noted a 4.1% year-over-year decline in revenue.

Lord Abbett & CO. LLC grew its position in shares of MRC Global Inc. (NYSE:MRC - Free Report) by 336.0% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 3,498,499 shares of the oil and gas company's stock after acquiring an additional 2,696,044 shares during the quarter. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC owned 4.06% of MRC Global worth $40,163,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Meeder Asset Management Inc. increased its position in shares of MRC Global by 24.7% during the first quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 5,462 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $63,000 after acquiring an additional 1,081 shares during the last quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC grew its stake in MRC Global by 3.7% in the 4th quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 34,562 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $440,000 after purchasing an additional 1,234 shares during the period. MetLife Investment Management LLC increased its position in shares of MRC Global by 3.8% during the 4th quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 51,551 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $659,000 after purchasing an additional 1,886 shares during the last quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of MRC Global by 821.2% during the 4th quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 2,699 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 2,406 shares during the period. Finally, EP Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of MRC Global by 19.6% during the 4th quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 15,682 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $200,000 after purchasing an additional 2,567 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 94.97% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of MRC Global from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, June 6th. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their target price on shares of MRC Global from $17.00 to $16.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, July 21st. Zacks Research upgraded shares of MRC Global to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, August 8th. Finally, Susquehanna lifted their price target on shares of MRC Global from $14.00 to $15.00 and gave the stock a "positive" rating in a report on Thursday, August 7th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, MRC Global presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $16.00.

MRC Global Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:MRC traded down $0.0530 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $13.9170. 624,136 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 841,248. MRC Global Inc. has a 52-week low of $9.23 and a 52-week high of $15.59. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $13.68 and a 200 day moving average of $12.57. 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 company has a market cap of $1.18 billion, a PE ratio of -57.99 and a beta of 1.65.

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

MRC Global Company Profile

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.