Quanex Building Products Corporation (NX): fair value, margin of safety and Wheel Score

Is NX undervalued?

Quanex Building Products Corporation (NX) closed at 19.32 on 16 Oct 2026. The GLS average fair value - the simple average of the 9 valuation models that produced a positive number - is 22.89, so the price sits 16% below it. 4 of the 9 models value the shares above the current price. A margin of safety between 10% and 30% is where most of the Sunday Scan candidates come from.

The 9 models disagree widely: DDM gives 4.71 while 10 Cap gives 59.05. A spread that wide means the average is sensitive to which methods you trust; the model table below shows where each one lands, and the Quote page lets you switch any of them off.

The nightly engine files NX under Blend.

Nine valuation models for NX

Each model turns the latest filed numbers into a value per share; the GLS fair value is the simple average of the ones that produce a positive number. The last two rows are shown for reference and never enter the average. The Quote page lets you switch any model off and add your own margin of safety.

Quality and financial health

On financial health NX scores 8/9 (Piotroski): most of the nine tests - positive earnings and cash flow, falling debt, rising margins and turnover - are passed, which is the kind of balance sheet a wheel trader is happy to be assigned. The GLS Moat score is low at 2.0 out of 10, which says the ten-year record of revenue, earnings, margins and returns on capital has been inconsistent - growth and shocks rather than steady compounding.

Returns on capital are thin or negative - ROIC -15.9%, ROE -34.5%, ROA -12.7% - with debt at 1.18 times equity and a free-cash-flow yield of 10.3%.

The dividend yield is 1.66% at a payout ratio of 32%; for a wheel trader holding assigned shares the dividend adds to the covered-call premium, and the ex-dividend date is worth knowing before a call is sold. Revenue comes mainly from NA Fenestration 57%, EU Fenestration 23%, NA Cabinet Components 19% (quarter Q2 FY2025).

Institutional ownership scores 10/10, insider activity 1/10 and Congressional trading 5/10 on the GLS smart-money scales.

Wheel Score 71: Good

NX scores 71 out of 100 on the Wheel Score (Good band, 65-79). The score blends the margin of safety (Value, 19/25), Piotroski health (18/20), the GLS moat (3/15), the option premium on offer (20/20) and how easily the stock trades (11/20). Moat (3/15) is the part holding the score back.

Implied volatility is 53% on the near-the-money contracts 20-60 days out - inside the 35-60% range the Wheel Score pays full marks for: enough premium to be worth selling, not so much that the risk is unpaid. Chain open interest is thin - 305 contracts across every expiry - so fills at a fair price are not guaranteed; a 30-45-day put may not exist at a usable strike.

Volume runs at 337k shares a day on a market cap of $885M, with a beta of 0.93; the Stability part of the Wheel Score gives that 11 of 20.

The Wheel Score ranks ~7,400 US stocks for selling cash-secured puts and covered calls; it is updated nightly and is not a recommendation. The walkthrough lesson shows how the score fits into a trade, start to finish.

Upcoming events

The next earnings report is due on 10 Dec 2026, 55 days away - outside the window of a 30-45-day put sold today.

Earnings, dividend, IPO, split and economic calendars for the whole market, filterable to your watchlists.

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