Quanex Building Products Co. (NYSE:NX) Sees Large Decline in Short Interest

Quanex Building Products Co. (NYSE:NX) was the target of a large drop in short interest in September. As of September 30th, there was short interest totalling 1,570,000 shares, a drop of 26.6% from the September 15th total of 2,140,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 692,200 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.3 days.

Quanex Building Products Trading Up 2.7 %

Shares of NX stock opened at $28.46 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 1.26. Quanex Building Products has a fifty-two week low of $24.85 and a fifty-two week high of $39.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09, a quick ratio of 1.58 and a current ratio of 2.36. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $27.47 and a 200 day moving average price of $30.71.

Quanex Building Products (NYSE:NX) last released its earnings results on Thursday, September 5th. The construction company reported $0.73 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.70 by $0.03. Quanex Building Products had a return on equity of 14.68% and a net margin of 6.88%. The firm had revenue of $280.35 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $278.00 million. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.97 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that Quanex Building Products will post 2.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Quanex Building Products Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 30th. Investors of record on Monday, September 16th were issued a $0.08 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 16th. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.12%. Quanex Building Products’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 14.22%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in NX. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC boosted its position in shares of Quanex Building Products by 2.0% during the 1st quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 15,564 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $598,000 after acquiring an additional 304 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in Quanex Building Products by 65.4% in the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 994 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 393 shares in the last quarter. SummerHaven Investment Management LLC increased its stake in 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 last quarter. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp raised its holdings in Quanex Building Products by 1.7% during the first quarter. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp now owns 28,972 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $1,113,000 after purchasing an additional 477 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Oliver Luxxe Assets LLC lifted its position in shares of Quanex Building Products by 1.5% during the 1st quarter. Oliver Luxxe Assets LLC now owns 43,900 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $1,687,000 after buying an additional 660 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.48% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on NX shares. Benchmark reissued a “buy” rating and set a $38.00 price target on shares of Quanex Building Products in a research report on Wednesday, September 11th. StockNews.com raised shares of Quanex Building Products from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday.

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.