MRC Global Inc. (NYSE:MRC) Short Interest Down 22.8% in March

MRC Global Inc. (NYSE:MRC - Get Free Report) was the recipient of a significant drop in short interest in the month of March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totalling 1,250,000 shares, a drop of 22.8% from the March 15th total of 1,620,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 579,400 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.2 days.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its stake in shares of MRC Global by 3.8% in the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 63,452 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $699,000 after acquiring an additional 2,311 shares during the last quarter. Barclays PLC raised its position in MRC Global by 100.6% in the 4th quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 151,733 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $1,671,000 after purchasing an additional 76,100 shares during the last quarter. Venator Management LLC acquired a new position in MRC Global during the 4th quarter worth $550,000. Ophir Asset Management Pty Ltd acquired a new position in MRC Global during the 4th quarter worth $304,000. Finally, Bridgeway Capital Management LLC boosted its position in MRC Global by 9.8% in the 4th quarter. Bridgeway Capital Management LLC now owns 77,752 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $856,000 after buying an additional 6,912 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.97% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have commented on MRC. Susquehanna raised their price target on shares of MRC Global from $13.00 to $15.00 and gave the stock a "positive" rating in a research note on Monday, April 8th. Stephens restated an "overweight" rating and set a $17.00 target price on shares of MRC Global in a research report on Wednesday, February 14th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $15.25.

MRC Global Price Performance

Shares of NYSE MRC traded down $0.38 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $12.08. 552,969 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 476,158. MRC Global has a twelve month low of $8.15 and a twelve month high of $13.00. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $11.99 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $11.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a current ratio of 1.48. The company has a market cap of $1.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.62 and a beta of 1.99.

MRC Global (NYSE:MRC - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 13th. The oil and gas company reported $0.23 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.11 by $0.12. The firm had revenue of $768.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $810.52 million. MRC Global had a return on equity of 26.92% and a net margin of 3.34%. The business's revenue was down 11.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.32 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that MRC Global will post 0.97 EPS for the current fiscal 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.