Principal Financial Group Inc. Boosts Stock Position in Quanex Building Products Co. (NYSE:NX)

Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its stake in Quanex Building Products Co. (NYSE:NX) by 779.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,956,454 shares of the construction company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,733,932 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned 4.14% of Quanex Building Products worth $47,424,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in Quanex Building Products by 38.7% in the third quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 115,210 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $3,197,000 after purchasing an additional 32,158 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its stake in shares of Quanex Building Products by 30.5% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 318,044 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $8,826,000 after purchasing an additional 74,396 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of 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 worth $28,894,000 after purchasing an additional 286,128 shares in the last quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. increased its stake in shares of Quanex Building Products by 292.2% during the 3rd quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 82,469 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $2,289,000 after purchasing an additional 61,444 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Loomis Sayles & Co. L P grew its stake in Quanex Building Products by 5.6% in the 3rd quarter. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P now owns 365,517 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $10,143,000 after acquiring an additional 19,361 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.48% of the company’s stock.

Quanex Building Products Stock Performance

NYSE:NX opened at $20.69 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 2.24, a quick ratio of 1.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73. The firm has a market capitalization of $976.54 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.47, a PEG ratio of 0.73 and a beta of 1.28. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $23.21 and its 200 day simple moving average is $26.72. Quanex Building Products Co. has a twelve month low of $19.57 and a twelve month high of $39.31.

Quanex Building Products (NYSE:NX) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, December 12th. The construction company reported $0.61 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 11.79%. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.95 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Quanex Building Products Co. will post 2.18 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Quanex Building Products Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Investors of record on Monday, December 16th were paid a dividend of $0.08 per share. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.55%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 16th. Quanex Building Products’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 28.57%.

Insider Transactions at Quanex Building Products

In other Quanex Building Products news, CEO George Laverne Wilson acquired 4,328 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 19th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $23.03 per share, with a total value of $99,673.84. Following 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 ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 2.15% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, StockNews.com lowered shares of Quanex Building Products from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Sunday, December 22nd.

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.