Short Interest in Quanex Building Products Co. (NYSE:NX) Increases By 20.2%

Quanex Building Products Co. (NYSE:NX) was the recipient of a significant increase in short interest during the month of September. As of September 15th, there was short interest totalling 2,140,000 shares, an increase of 20.2% from the August 31st total of 1,780,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 669,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 3.2 days.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Quanex Building Products

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of NX. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in Quanex Building Products by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,714,516 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $113,553,000 after purchasing an additional 30,198 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc. grew its stake in shares of Quanex Building Products by 14.6% during the 2nd quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 1,295,125 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $35,810,000 after acquiring an additional 165,121 shares during the period. Renaissance Technologies LLC grew its stake in shares of Quanex Building Products by 0.3% during the 2nd quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 1,159,407 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $32,058,000 after acquiring an additional 3,400 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its holdings in Quanex Building Products by 13.5% during the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 807,464 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $22,326,000 after purchasing an additional 96,095 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its holdings in Quanex Building Products by 0.9% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 349,870 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $9,674,000 after purchasing an additional 3,283 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 97.48% of the company’s stock.

Quanex Building Products Stock Up 0.3 %

Shares of NYSE:NX traded up $0.08 during trading on Monday, reaching $27.74. 410,663 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 352,443. 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 has a 1-year low of $24.85 and a 1-year high of $39.31. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $28.49 and a two-hundred day moving average of $31.28. The firm has a market cap of $1.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 1.27.

Quanex Building Products (NYSE:NX) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, September 5th. The construction company reported $0.73 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 company had revenue of $280.35 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $278.00 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.97 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that Quanex Building Products will post 2.15 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Quanex Building Products Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 30th. Investors of record on Monday, September 16th will be issued a dividend of $0.08 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 16th. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.15%. Quanex Building Products’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 13.11%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently weighed in on NX shares. Benchmark restated a “buy” rating and set a $38.00 price target on shares of Quanex Building Products in a report on Wednesday, September 11th. StockNews.com lowered Quanex Building Products from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 10th.

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.