Quanex Building Products Corporation (NYSE:NX) Sees Large Decrease in Short Interest

Quanex Building Products Corporation (NYSE:NX) was the target of a significant drop in short interest in December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totaling 2,100,051 shares, a drop of 30.3% from the December 15th total of 3,014,034 shares. Approximately 4.7% of the company’s stock are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 1,003,906 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.1 days. Based on an average daily volume of 1,003,906 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.1 days. Approximately 4.7% of the company’s stock are short sold.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

NX has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Zacks Research upgraded Quanex Building Products from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, November 10th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Quanex Building Products from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, January 10th. Benchmark reduced their price target on shares of Quanex Building Products from $30.00 to $28.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, December 15th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d)” rating on shares of Quanex Building Products in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $28.00.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Teleios Capital Partners Gmbh sold 119,485 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $15.94, for a total value of $1,904,590.90. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 4,421,879 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $70,484,751.26. The trade was a 2.63% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 2.15% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Quanex Building Products

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of NX. Orion Porfolio Solutions LLC increased its stake in Quanex Building Products by 5.6% during the 2nd quarter. Orion Porfolio Solutions LLC now owns 11,517 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $218,000 after buying an additional 614 shares during the period. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC raised its holdings in Quanex Building Products by 3.3% during the second quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 22,136 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $418,000 after purchasing an additional 698 shares in the last quarter. CWM LLC raised its holdings in Quanex Building Products by 104.5% during the second quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,468 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 750 shares in the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lifted its position in Quanex Building Products by 4.3% in the second quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 18,240 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $345,000 after purchasing an additional 754 shares during the period. Finally, Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS boosted its stake in Quanex Building Products by 6.8% during the 2nd quarter. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS now owns 12,061 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $228,000 after purchasing an additional 764 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.48% of the company’s stock.

Quanex Building Products Stock Performance

NYSE:NX traded up $0.12 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $18.69. The stock had a trading volume of 729,477 shares, compared to its average volume of 628,921. The company has a current ratio of 2.04, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $14.69 and a 200-day simple moving average of $16.44. The stock has a market capitalization of $853.75 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -3.41, a P/E/G ratio of 0.64 and a beta of 0.93. Quanex Building Products has a 52 week low of $11.04 and a 52 week high of $24.79.

Quanex Building Products (NYSE:NX) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, December 11th. The construction company reported $0.83 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.50 by $0.33. Quanex Building Products had a negative net margin of 13.65% and a positive return on equity of 12.46%. The company had revenue of $489.85 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $472.62 million. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.61 earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect that Quanex Building Products will post 2.18 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Quanex Building Products Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 15th were paid a $0.08 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 15th. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.7%. Quanex Building Products’s dividend payout ratio is presently -5.83%.

About Quanex Building Products

Quanex Building Products Corporation engages in the design, manufacture and distribution of components for the window, door and building products industries in North America. The company operates through two primary segments: Window Products and Door & Building Products. Its Window Products segment supplies vinyl window profiles and related accessories, while its Door & Building Products segment offers engineered door skins, panels, siding products, specialty moldings and other exterior building components.

Within its Window Products segment, Quanex produces extrusion profiles used by window fabricators to assemble vinyl casement, double-hung, slider and picture windows.