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Is Quanex Building Products (NX) Stock Undervalued Right Now?

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Here at Zacks, we focus on our proven ranking system, which places an emphasis on earnings estimates and estimate revisions, to find winning stocks. But we also understand that investors develop their own strategies, so we are constantly looking at the latest trends in value, growth, and momentum to find strong companies for our readers.

Looking at the history of these trends, perhaps none is more beloved than value investing. This strategy simply looks to identify companies that are being undervalued by the broader market. Value investors use fundamental analysis and traditional valuation metrics to find stocks that they believe are being undervalued by the market at large.

On top of the Zacks Rank, investors can also look at our innovative Style Scores system to find stocks with specific traits. For example, value investors will want to focus on the "Value" category. Stocks with high Zacks Ranks and "A" grades for Value will be some of the highest-quality value stocks on the market today.

Quanex Building Products (NX - Free Report) is a stock many investors are watching right now. NX is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #1 (Strong Buy), as well as a Value grade of A. The stock is trading with a P/E ratio of 10.01, which compares to its industry's average of 12.59. Over the past 52 weeks, NX's Forward P/E has been as high as 13.45 and as low as 9.23, with a median of 11.33.

Value investors also use the P/S ratio. The P/S ratio is is calculated as price divided by sales. This is a prefered metric because revenue can't really be manipulated, so sales are often a truer performance indicator. NX has a P/S ratio of 0.71. This compares to its industry's average P/S of 1.17.

Finally, investors will want to recognize that NX has a P/CF ratio of 7.12. This metric focuses on a firm's operating cash flow and is often used to find stocks that are undervalued based on the strength of their cash outlook. NX's P/CF compares to its industry's average P/CF of 15.99. Within the past 12 months, NX's P/CF has been as high as 8.57 and as low as 5.57, with a median of 7.21.

If you're looking for another solid Building Products - Miscellaneous value stock, take a look at United Rentals (URI - Free Report) . URI is a # 2 (Buy) stock with a Value score of A.

Shares of United Rentals are currently trading at a forward earnings multiple of 9.04 and a PEG ratio of 0.56 compared to its industry's P/E and PEG ratios of 12.59 and 0.64, respectively.

Over the last 12 months, URI's P/E has been as high as 15.80, as low as 7.49, with a median of 12.29, and its PEG ratio has been as high as 1.05, as low as 0.43, with a median of 0.70.

United Rentals also has a P/B ratio of 3.38 compared to its industry's price-to-book ratio of 183.64. Over the past year, its P/B ratio has been as high as 5.20, as low as 2.78, with a median of 4.06.

These figures are just a handful of the metrics value investors tend to look at, but they help show that Quanex Building Products and United Rentals are likely being undervalued right now. Considering this, as well as the strength of its earnings outlook, NX and URI feels like a great value stock at the moment.


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