MRC Global Inc (MRC): Hedge Funds Are Bullish and Insiders Are Undecided, What Should You Do?

What’s a smart MRC Global Inc (NYSE:MRC) investor to do?

In today’s marketplace, there are a multitude of methods market participants can use to watch stocks. Two of the most under-the-radar are hedge fund and insider trading activity. At Insider Monkey, our studies have shown that, historically, those who follow the best picks of the elite money managers can beat the broader indices by a solid margin (see just how much).

Equally as key, optimistic insider trading activity is another way to analyze the world of equities. Just as you’d expect, there are plenty of stimuli for a bullish insider to downsize shares of his or her company, but just one, very clear reason why they would buy. Several academic studies have demonstrated the market-beating potential of this tactic if piggybackers know what to do (learn more here).

What’s more, it’s important to analyze the recent info surrounding MRC Global Inc (NYSE:MRC).

What does the smart money think about MRC Global Inc (NYSE:MRC)?

Heading into Q3, a total of 22 of the hedge funds we track were long in this stock, a change of 10% from the previous quarter. With hedge funds’ sentiment swirling, there exists a few noteworthy hedge fund managers who were boosting their holdings meaningfully.

According to our 13F database, Alan Fournier’s Pennant Capital Management had the largest position in MRC Global Inc (NYSE:MRC), worth close to $182.8 million, accounting for 3.4% of its total 13F portfolio. Coming in second is Select Equity Group, managed by Robert Joseph Caruso, which held a $113.2 million position; the fund has 1.6% of its 13F portfolio invested in the stock. Remaining hedgies that are bullish include Phill Gross and Robert Atchinson’s Adage Capital Management, SAC Subsidiary’s CR Intrinsic Investors and Bill Miller’s Legg Mason Capital Management.

Now, certain bigger names have jumped into MRC Global Inc (NYSE:MRC) headfirst. Pennant Capital Management, managed by Alan Fournier, created the largest position in MRC Global Inc (NYSE:MRC). Pennant Capital Management had 182.8 million invested in the company at the end of the quarter. Robert Joseph Caruso’s Select Equity Group also made a $113.2 million investment in the stock during the quarter. The other funds with brand new MRC positions are Phill Gross and Robert Atchinson’s Adage Capital Management, SAC Subsidiary’s CR Intrinsic Investors, and Bill Miller’s Legg Mason Capital Management.

How have insiders been trading MRC Global Inc (NYSE:MRC)?

Insider buying made by high-level executives is best served when the primary stock in question has experienced transactions within the past six months. Over the latest half-year time period, MRC Global Inc (NYSE:MRC) has seen zero unique insiders buying, and zero insider sales (see the details of insider trades here).

We’ll also examine the relationship between both of these indicators in other stocks similar to MRC Global Inc (NYSE:MRC). These stocks are Stanley Black & Decker, Inc. (NYSE:SWK), RBC Bearings Incorporated (NASDAQ:ROLL), Proto Labs Inc (NYSE:PRLB), The Timken Company (NYSE:TKR), and Kennametal Inc. (NYSE:KMT). All of these stocks are in the machine tools & accessories industry and their market caps are closest to MRC’s market cap.