Quanex Building Products Co. (NYSE:NX) Shares Purchased by Franklin Resources Inc.

Franklin Resources Inc. raised its stake in shares of Quanex Building Products Co. (NYSE:NX) by 6.4% during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 19,203 shares of the construction company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,150 shares during the quarter. Franklin Resources Inc.’s holdings in Quanex Building Products were worth $562,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Artemis Investment Management LLP acquired a new position in shares of Quanex Building Products in the third quarter valued at about $15,343,000. State Street Corp raised 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 buying an additional 351,778 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Quanex Building Products by 37.9% during 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 acquiring an additional 286,128 shares during the period. Janus Henderson Group PLC boosted its holdings in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 176,949 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Weiss Asset Management LP acquired a new stake in shares of Quanex Building Products in the third quarter worth $4,766,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.48% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO George Laverne Wilson bought 4,328 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 19th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $23.03 per share, for a total transaction of $99,673.84. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer now directly owns 287,644 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,624,441.32. This trade represents a 1.53 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 2.15% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on NX shares. StockNews.com lowered Quanex Building Products from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Sunday, December 22nd. Benchmark reissued a “buy” rating and set a $38.00 price target on shares of Quanex Building Products in a report on Wednesday, September 11th.

Quanex Building Products Price Performance

Shares of Quanex Building Products stock opened at $24.06 on Tuesday. 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 Co. has a twelve month low of $22.92 and a twelve month high of $39.31. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $28.87 and a 200 day moving average price of $28.58. The firm has a market cap of $1.14 billion, a PE ratio of 21.48, a P/E/G ratio of 0.89 and a beta of 1.24.

Quanex Building Products (NYSE:NX) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, December 12th. The construction company reported $0.61 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 in the previous year, the company posted $0.95 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict 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 disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Investors of record on Monday, December 16th will be paid a $0.08 dividend. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.33%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 16th. Quanex Building Products’s dividend payout ratio is currently 28.57%.

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.