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

Quanex Building Products Co. (NYSE:NX) gapped up before the market opened on Friday after the company announced better than expected quarterly earnings. The stock had previously closed at $24.86, but opened at $30.00. Quanex Building Products shares last traded at $30.48, with a volume of 375,967 shares changing hands.

The construction company reported $0.73 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.70 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $280.35 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $278.00 million. Quanex Building Products had a net margin of 7.33% and a return on equity of 16.55%. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.97 earnings per share.

Quanex Building Products Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 16th will be given a $0.08 dividend. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.07%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 16th. Quanex Building Products’s dividend payout ratio is 13.11%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, StockNews.com lowered shares of Quanex Building Products from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, July 20th.

Institutional Trading of Quanex Building Products

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC raised its position in shares of Quanex Building Products by 2.0% in the first quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 15,564 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $598,000 after purchasing an additional 304 shares during the period. SummerHaven Investment Management LLC raised its position in shares of Quanex Building Products by 1.7% in the second quarter. SummerHaven Investment Management LLC now owns 28,452 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $787,000 after purchasing an additional 474 shares during the period. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp raised its position in shares of Quanex Building Products by 1.7% in the first quarter. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp now owns 28,972 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $1,113,000 after purchasing an additional 477 shares during the period. Oliver Luxxe Assets LLC raised its position in shares of Quanex Building Products by 1.5% in the first quarter. Oliver Luxxe Assets LLC now owns 43,900 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $1,687,000 after purchasing an additional 660 shares during the period. Finally, TD Asset Management Inc raised its position in shares of Quanex Building Products by 3.4% in the second quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 24,200 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $669,000 after purchasing an additional 800 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 97.48% of the company’s stock.

Quanex Building Products Trading Up 20.7 %

The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $28.62 and its 200-day moving average price is $32.06. The company has a quick ratio of 1.37, a current ratio of 2.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09. The company has a market cap of $993.30 million, a P/E ratio of 12.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 1.27.

About Quanex Building Products

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.