Quanex Building Products (NYSE:NX) Shares Up 4.9% After Insider Buying Activity

Quanex Building Products Co. (NYSE:NX)’s share price shot up 4.9% during trading on Friday after an insider bought additional shares in the company. The stock traded as high as $24.53 and last traded at $24.26. 98,020 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 73% from the average session volume of 368,616 shares. The stock had previously closed at $23.13.

Specifically, CEO George Laverne Wilson bought 4,328 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 19th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $23.03 per share, for a total transaction of $99,673.84. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 287,644 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,624,441.32. This trade represents a 1.53 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on NX shares. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Quanex Building Products from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, December 14th. Benchmark reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $38.00 target price on shares of Quanex Building Products in a report on Wednesday, September 11th.

Quanex Building Products Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09, a current ratio of 2.36 and a quick ratio of 1.58. The company has a market capitalization of $1.19 billion, a PE ratio of 22.41, a P/E/G ratio of 0.89 and a beta of 1.24. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $29.43 and a 200 day simple moving average of $28.85.

Quanex Building Products (NYSE:NX) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, December 12th. The construction company reported $0.61 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.53 by $0.08. Quanex Building Products had a net margin of 2.59% and a return on equity of 14.06%. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.95 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Quanex Building Products Co. will post 2.26 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Quanex Building Products Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Investors of record on Monday, December 16th will be given a dividend of $0.08 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 16th. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.27%. Quanex Building Products’s dividend payout ratio is currently 28.57%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Quanex Building Products

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of NX. Artemis Investment Management LLP purchased a new position in Quanex Building Products during the third quarter worth $15,343,000. State Street Corp increased its position in Quanex Building Products by 28.1% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,604,668 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $44,530,000 after purchasing an additional 351,778 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Quanex Building Products by 37.9% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,040,987 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $28,894,000 after purchasing an additional 286,128 shares during the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC lifted its holdings in Quanex Building Products by 318.9% in the 3rd quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 232,428 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $6,447,000 after purchasing an additional 176,949 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Weiss Asset Management LP acquired a new stake in shares of Quanex Building Products during the 3rd quarter worth about $4,766,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.48% of the company’s stock.

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.