Principal Financial Group Inc. Has $6.18 Million Stake in Quanex Building Products Co. (NYSE:NX)

Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Quanex Building Products Co. (NYSE:NX) by 28.8% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 222,522 shares of the construction company’s stock after buying an additional 49,716 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned approximately 0.47% of Quanex Building Products worth $6,175,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of NX. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in shares of Quanex Building Products by 65.4% during the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 994 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 393 shares during the period. Quarry LP increased its stake in Quanex Building Products by 150.8% during the 3rd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 1,126 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 677 shares in the last quarter. Point72 Hong Kong Ltd acquired a new stake in Quanex Building Products during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $37,000. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio lifted its stake in Quanex Building Products by 69.4% in the third quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 1,477 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $41,000 after buying an additional 605 shares in the last quarter. Finally, nVerses Capital LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Quanex Building Products by 900.0% in the second quarter. nVerses Capital LLC now owns 2,000 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $55,000 after buying an additional 1,800 shares during the period. 97.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently commented on NX shares. Benchmark reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $38.00 price objective on shares of Quanex Building Products in a research report on Wednesday, September 11th. StockNews.com cut Quanex Building Products from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Sunday, December 22nd.

Quanex Building Products Price Performance

NYSE NX opened at $24.24 on Thursday. Quanex Building Products Co. has a 12-month low of $22.92 and a 12-month high of $39.31. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $28.53 and its 200-day moving average is $28.49. The company has a market capitalization of $1.15 billion, a PE ratio of 21.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.89 and a beta of 1.24. The company has a quick ratio of 1.58, a current ratio of 2.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09.

Quanex Building Products (NYSE:NX) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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 quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.95 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Quanex Building Products Co. will post 2.26 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Quanex Building Products Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Investors of record on Monday, December 16th were paid a $0.08 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 16th. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.32%. Quanex Building Products’s dividend payout ratio is presently 28.57%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Quanex Building Products news, CEO George Laverne Wilson acquired 4,328 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 19th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $23.03 per share, with a total value of $99,673.84. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 287,644 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,624,441.32. This represents a 1.53 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 2.15% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Quanex Building Products 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.