Royce & Associates LP Buys 48,290 Shares of MRC Global Inc. (NYSE:MRC)

Royce & Associates LP increased its stake in shares of MRC Global Inc. (NYSE:MRC) by 5.3% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 958,042 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after acquiring an additional 48,290 shares during the period. Royce & Associates LP’s holdings in MRC Global were worth $12,244,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Empowered Funds LLC bought a new position in shares of MRC Global in the third quarter valued at $3,607,000. Barclays PLC lifted its stake in shares of MRC Global by 197.7% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 151,169 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $1,927,000 after buying an additional 100,384 shares in the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC bought a new position in shares of MRC Global in the fourth quarter valued at $1,108,000. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its stake in shares of MRC Global by 1.8% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 3,209,251 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $40,886,000 after buying an additional 55,553 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Pzena Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of MRC Global by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC now owns 5,825,650 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $74,452,000 after buying an additional 54,859 shares in the last quarter. 94.97% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

MRC Global Stock Up 1.9 %

MRC opened at $11.72 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a current ratio of 1.99 and a quick ratio of 1.11. The company’s 50-day moving average is $13.14 and its 200 day moving average is $13.00. MRC Global Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $9.42 and a fifty-two week high of $15.41. The firm has a market capitalization of $998.62 million, a P/E ratio of 13.47 and a beta of 1.96.

MRC Global (NYSE:MRC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, March 14th. The oil and gas company reported $0.08 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.08. MRC Global had a net margin of 3.09% and a return on equity of 19.58%. The company had revenue of $736.80 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $726.90 million. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.23 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was down 10.3% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts expect that MRC Global Inc. will post 0.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

MRC Global announced that its board has initiated a share repurchase program on Friday, January 3rd that authorizes the company to buyback $125.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the oil and gas company to reacquire up to 11% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have weighed in on MRC shares. Susquehanna dropped their price objective on shares of MRC Global from $17.00 to $15.00 and set a “positive” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday. StockNews.com lowered shares of MRC Global from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price target on shares of MRC Global from $17.00 to $16.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday.

MRC Global 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.