Quanex Building Products (NYSE:NX – Get Free Report) and UFP Industries (NASDAQ:UFPI – Get Free Report) are both industrials companies, but which is the better stock? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their profitability, risk, institutional ownership, valuation, dividends, analyst recommendations and earnings.
Analyst Recommendations
This is a breakdown of recent ratings and recommmendations for Quanex Building Products and UFP Industries, as provided by MarketBeat.com.
| Sell Ratings | Hold Ratings | Buy Ratings | Strong Buy Ratings | Rating Score | |
| Quanex Building Products | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2.00 |
| UFP Industries | 0 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 2.50 |
Quanex Building Products currently has a consensus price target of $28.00, suggesting a potential upside of 33.96%. UFP Industries has a consensus price target of $103.75, suggesting a potential upside of 15.44%. Given Quanex Building Products’ higher possible upside, equities research analysts plainly believe Quanex Building Products is more favorable than UFP Industries.
Valuation and Earnings
| Gross Revenue | Price/Sales Ratio | Net Income | Earnings Per Share | Price/Earnings Ratio | |
| Quanex Building Products | $1.84 billion | 0.52 | -$250.81 million | ($5.63) | -3.71 |
| UFP Industries | $6.32 billion | 0.78 | $294.79 million | $4.36 | 20.61 |
UFP Industries has higher revenue and earnings than Quanex Building Products. Quanex Building Products is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than UFP Industries, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.
Risk & Volatility
Quanex Building Products has a beta of 0.92, indicating that its share price is 8% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, UFP Industries has a beta of 1.23, indicating that its share price is 23% more volatile than the S&P 500.
Dividends
Quanex Building Products pays an annual dividend of $0.32 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.5%. UFP Industries pays an annual dividend of $1.44 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.6%. Quanex Building Products pays out -5.7% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. UFP Industries pays out 33.0% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Both companies have healthy payout ratios and should be able to cover their dividend payments with earnings for the next several years. UFP Industries has increased its dividend for 5 consecutive years. UFP Industries is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.
Insider and Institutional Ownership
97.5% of Quanex Building Products shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 81.8% of UFP Industries shares are held by institutional investors. 1.9% of Quanex Building Products shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 2.5% of UFP Industries shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.
Profitability
This table compares Quanex Building Products and UFP Industries’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.
| Net Margins | Return on Equity | Return on Assets | |
| Quanex Building Products | -13.85% | 11.11% | 4.07% |
| UFP Industries | 3.99% | 8.00% | 6.11% |
Summary
UFP Industries beats Quanex Building Products on 13 of the 17 factors compared between the two stocks.
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. It offers flexible insulating glass spacers, extruded vinyl profiles, window and door screens, and precision-formed metal and wood products, as well as cabinet doors and other components for original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) in the kitchen and bathroom cabinet industry. In addition, the company provides various non-fenestration components and products, including solar panel sealants, trim moldings, vinyl decking, fencing, water retention barriers, and conservatory roof components. It sells its products to OEMs in the building products industry through sales representatives, direct sales force, distributors, and independent sales agents. Quanex Building Products Corporation was founded in 1927 and is based in Houston, Texas.
About UFP Industries
UFP Industries, Inc., through its subsidiaries, designs, manufactures, and markets wood and non-wood composites, and other materials in North America, Europe, Asia, and Australia. It operates through Retail, Packaging, and Construction segments. The Retail segment offers treated lumber products, including decking, fencing, lattice, and other products; pressure-treated and fire-retardant products used primarily for outdoor decking environments; and lawn and garden products, consisting of wood and vinyl fencing options, garden beds and planters, pergolas, picnic tables, and other landscaping products. This segment also offers wood plastic composites, composite decking, and related decking accessories, including non- aluminum railing systems, balusters, post caps, and other products, as well as pre-painted and primed shiplap and project boards. The Packaging segment provides custom and structural packaging products, pallets, corrugate, foam, labels, strapping, and films. The construction segment offers roof trusses, cut-to-size dimensional and board lumber, plywoods, and oriented strand boards; engineered wood components, including roof and floor trusses, wall panels, I-joists, and lumber packages; and alternate materials components, such as metal trusses, sheathed and pre-finished light gauge metal wall panels, aluminum decks, and rail accessories, as well as distributes siding, electrical, and plumbing products. This segment also engages in the manufacture of components; design, manufacture, and supply of wood forms and related products to set or form concrete for structures, such as parking garages, stadiums, and other infrastructure projects. It also offers interior fixtures, millwork, and casework for retail and commercial structures. The company was formerly known as Universal Forest Products, Inc. and changed its name to UFP Industries, Inc. in April 2020. UFP Industries, Inc. was incorporated in 1955 and is headquartered in Grand Rapids, Michigan.
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