Should Value Investors Buy Quanex Building Products (NX) Stock?

The proven Zacks Rank system focuses on earnings estimates and estimate revisions to find winning stocks. Nevertheless, we know that our readers all have their own perspectives, so we are always looking at the latest trends in value, growth, and momentum to find strong picks.

Of these, perhaps no stock market trend is more popular than value investing, which is a strategy that has proven to be successful in all sorts of market environments. Value investors use fundamental analysis and traditional valuation metrics to find stocks that they believe are being undervalued by the market at large.

In addition to the Zacks Rank, investors looking for stocks with specific traits can utilize our Style Scores system. Of course, value investors will be most interested in the system's "Value" category. Stocks with "A" grades for Value and high Zacks Ranks are among the best value stocks available at any given moment.

One stock to keep an eye on is Quanex Building Products (NX). NX is currently holding a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy) and a Value grade of A. The stock holds a P/E ratio of 8.44, while its industry has an average P/E of 12.07. Over the past year, NX's Forward P/E has been as high as 13.45 and as low as 8.44, with a median of 10.98.

Another notable valuation metric for NX is its P/B ratio of 1.53. The P/B is a method of comparing a stock's market value to its book value, which is defined as total assets minus total liabilities. This stock's P/B looks solid versus its industry's average P/B of 3.22. NX's P/B has been as high as 2.04 and as low as 1.46, with a median of 1.77, over the past year.

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 0.58. This compares to its industry's average P/S of 1.13.

Finally, investors should note that NX has a P/CF ratio of 5.48. This figure highlights a company's operating cash flow and can be used to find firms that are undervalued when considering their impressive cash outlook. NX's P/CF compares to its industry's average P/CF of 14.86. Within the past 12 months, NX's P/CF has been as high as 8.57 and as low as 5.48, with a median of 7.06.

These are just a handful of the figures considered in Quanex Building Products's great Value grade. Still, they help show that the stock is likely being undervalued at the moment. Add this to the strength of its earnings outlook, and we can clearly see that NX is an impressive value stock right now.

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