Quanex Building Products (NYSE:NX) Shares Gap Up on Strong Earnings

Quanex Building Products Corporation (NYSE:NX) gapped up before the market opened on Friday following a stronger than expected earnings report. The stock had previously closed at $18.76, but opened at $20.63. Quanex Building Products shares last traded at $21.3550, with a volume of 52,895 shares changing hands.

The construction company reported $0.79 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.66 by $0.13. The company had revenue of $501.85 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $497.51 million. Quanex Building Products had a negative net margin of 13.85% and a positive return on equity of 11.11%. During the same period last year, the company posted ($6.04) earnings per share.

Quanex Building Products Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 15th will be issued a $0.08 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 15th. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.5%. Quanex Building Products’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently -5.68%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on NX shares. Zacks Research raised Quanex Building Products from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, July 17th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d)” rating on shares of Quanex Building Products in a report on Friday, July 17th. Finally, Benchmark reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Quanex Building Products in a research report on Thursday, August 27th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $28.00.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new stake in Quanex Building Products in the second quarter valued at about $136,089,000. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund purchased a new stake in shares of Quanex Building Products during the first quarter worth about $17,970,000. California State Teachers Retirement System increased its holdings in shares of Quanex Building Products by 2,264.2% during the second quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 925,712 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $17,237,000 after acquiring an additional 886,557 shares in the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership raised its position in shares of Quanex Building Products by 961.7% in the 1st quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 592,785 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $10,652,000 after purchasing an additional 536,949 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE acquired a new stake in Quanex Building Products in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $9,501,000. 97.48% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Quanex Building Products Stock Up 13.9%

The company has a market capitalization of $981.02 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -3.79, a PEG ratio of 0.81 and a beta of 0.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93, a quick ratio of 1.23 and a current ratio of 2.28. The business’s 50 day moving average is $18.99 and its 200 day moving average is $18.74.

Quanex Building Products Company Profile

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.