Quanex Building Products (NYSE:NX) Stock Crosses Below 50 Day Moving Average - Here's What Happened

Key Points

• Shares fell below the 50-day moving average: Quanex traded as low as $19.14 and last changed hands at $19.401, below its 50-day average of $20.11.
• Analyst sentiment is generally neutral: The consensus rating is Hold, with a $28.00 price target; one analyst rates the stock Buy and two rate it Hold.
• Quarterly results topped estimates: Quanex reported earnings of $0.79 per share versus the $0.66 consensus and revenue of $501.85 million versus estimates of $497.51 million.

Quanex Building Products Corporation (NYSE:NX - Get Free Report) crossed below its 50-day moving average during trading on Thursday. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $20.11 and traded as low as $19.14. Quanex Building Products shares last traded at $19.4010, with a volume of 748,459 shares trading hands.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently commented on NX shares. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Quanex Building Products from a "sell (d)" rating to a "hold (c)" rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 8th. Benchmark reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Quanex Building Products in a research note on Thursday, August 27th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Quanex Building Products from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, October 31st. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded shares of Quanex Building Products from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, July 17th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $28.00.

Quanex Building Products Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 2.23 and a quick ratio of 1.21. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $20.11 and a 200 day moving average price of $19.21. The stock has a market capitalization of $889.15 million, a PE ratio of 19.60, a PEG ratio of 0.73 and a beta of 0.95.

Quanex Building Products (NYSE:NX - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, September 3rd. The construction company reported $0.79 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.66 by $0.13. The firm had revenue of $501.85 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $497.51 million. Quanex Building Products had a return on equity of 11.61% and a net margin of 2.43%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned ($6.04) EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Quanex Building Products Corporation will post 1.82 earnings per share for the current year.

Quanex Building Products Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 15th were paid a dividend of $0.08 per share. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.6%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 15th. Quanex Building Products's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 32.32%.

Insider Transactions at Quanex Building Products

In other news, SVP Paul Cornett sold 5,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $21.32, for a total value of $117,260.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 70,074 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,493,977.68. This represents a 7.28% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Company insiders own 1.92% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Quanex Building Products

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Russell Investments Group Ltd. raised its holdings in Quanex Building Products by 1.6% in the 3rd quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 550,407 shares of the construction company's stock worth $10,386,000 after acquiring an additional 8,873 shares during the last quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System purchased a new stake in Quanex Building Products during the 3rd quarter valued at $192,000. VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al bought a new stake in shares of Quanex Building Products in the 3rd quarter worth $376,000. SummerHaven Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Quanex Building Products in the 3rd quarter worth $542,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings in shares of Quanex Building Products by 63.6% in the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 5,227 shares of the construction company's stock worth $99,000 after purchasing an additional 2,032 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 97.48% of the company's stock.

About Quanex Building Products

Quanex Building Products Corporation is a manufacturer of components used in residential and commercial building products. Its offerings serve window, door, and cabinet makers, with products that include window and door components, screens, hardware, seals and weatherstripping, insulated-glass components, and cabinet doors and related parts. The company sells to manufacturers and other customers in the building-products supply chain. Its operations serve markets in North America and internationally, providing components used in both new construction and renovation projects.

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