Quanex Building Products (NYSE:NX) Cut to Sell at StockNews.com

StockNews.com downgraded shares of Quanex Building Products (NYSE:NX) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research report sent to investors on Sunday.

Separately, Benchmark reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $38.00 price target on shares of Quanex Building Products in a research note on Wednesday, September 11th.

Quanex Building Products Price Performance

Shares of NX stock opened at $25.18 on Friday. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $29.20 and its 200 day simple moving average is $28.69. Quanex Building Products has a one year low of $22.92 and a one year high of $39.31. The firm has a market cap of $1.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.48, a P/E/G ratio of 0.89 and a beta of 1.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09, a current ratio of 2.36 and a quick ratio of 1.58.

Quanex Building Products (NYSE:NX) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, December 12th. The construction company reported $0.61 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.53 by $0.08. Quanex Building Products had a return on equity of 14.06% and a net margin of 2.59%. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.95 EPS. On average, analysts expect that Quanex Building Products will post 2.26 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Quanex Building Products Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 16th will be issued a $0.08 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 16th. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.27%. Quanex Building Products’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 28.57%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO George Laverne Wilson bought 4,328 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 19th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $23.03 per share, with a total value of $99,673.84. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 287,644 shares in the company, valued at $6,624,441.32. This represents a 1.53 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 2.15% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in Quanex Building Products by 38.7% in the third quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 115,210 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $3,197,000 after purchasing an additional 32,158 shares in the last quarter. Susquehanna International Group Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of Quanex Building Products during the 2nd quarter worth about $611,000. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Quanex Building Products by 292.2% in the 3rd quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 82,469 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $2,289,000 after purchasing an additional 61,444 shares during the period. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P lifted its stake in Quanex Building Products by 5.6% in the 3rd quarter. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P now owns 365,517 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $10,143,000 after purchasing an additional 19,361 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in Quanex Building Products by 26.3% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 669,270 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $18,572,000 after purchasing an additional 139,208 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 97.48% of the company’s stock.

Quanex Building Products Company Profile

Quanex Building Products Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, provides components for the fenestration industry in the United States, rest of Europe, Canada, Asia, the United Kingdom, and internationally. The company operates through three segments: North American Fenestration, European Fenestration, and North American Cabinet Components.