Quanex Building Products (NYSE:NX) and SPX Technologies (NYSE:SPXC) Critical Analysis

SPX Technologies (NYSE:SPXC) and Quanex Building Products (NYSE:NX) are both business services companies, but which is the better stock? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their dividends, risk, earnings, analyst recommendations, valuation, institutional ownership and profitability.

Volatility & Risk

SPX Technologies has a beta of 1.22, indicating that its stock price is 22% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Quanex Building Products has a beta of 1.27, indicating that its stock price is 27% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Profitability

This table compares SPX Technologies and Quanex Building Products’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
SPX Technologies	5.53%	19.20%	8.90%
Quanex Building Products	6.88%	14.68%	9.90%

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of recent recommendations and price targets for SPX Technologies and Quanex Building Products, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
SPX Technologies	0	2	1	0	2.33
Quanex Building Products	0	0	1	0	3.00

SPX Technologies presently has a consensus target price of $141.00, indicating a potential downside of 11.34%. Quanex Building Products has a consensus target price of $38.00, indicating a potential upside of 37.38%. Given Quanex Building Products’ stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe Quanex Building Products is more favorable than SPX Technologies.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

92.8% of SPX Technologies shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 97.5% of Quanex Building Products shares are held by institutional investors. 3.5% of SPX Technologies shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 2.2% of Quanex Building Products shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares SPX Technologies and Quanex Building Products”s top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
SPX Technologies	$1.74 billion	4.23	$89.90 million	$2.05	77.58
Quanex Building Products	$1.08 billion	0.85	$82.50 million	$2.44	11.34

SPX Technologies has higher revenue and earnings than Quanex Building Products. Quanex Building Products is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than SPX Technologies, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Summary

Quanex Building Products beats SPX Technologies on 7 of the 13 factors compared between the two stocks.

About SPX Technologies

SPX Technologies, Inc. supplies infrastructure equipment serving the heating, ventilation, and cooling (HVAC); and detection and measurement markets worldwide. The company operates in two segments, HVAC and Detection and Measurement. The HVAC segment engineers, designs, manufactures, installs, and services package and process cooling products and engineered air movement solutions for the HVAC industrial and power generation markets, as well as boilers, heating, and ventilation products for the residential and commercial markets. It offers its products under the Marley, Recold, SGS, Cincinnati Fan, TAMCO, Ingénia, Berko, Qmark, Fahrenheat, Leading Edge, Patterson-Kelley, Weil-McLain, Williamson-Thermoflo, INDEECO, Heatrex, AccuTherm, Brasch, Spectrum, BannerDay PipeHeating, and Solar Products brands. The Detection and Measurement segment offers underground pipe and cable locators, inspection and rehabilitation equipment, and robotic systems under the Radiodetection, Pearpoint, Schonstedt, Dielectric, Riser Bond, Cues, ULC Robotics, and Sensors & Software brands; transportation systems under the Genfare brand; communication technologies products under the TCI and ECS brands; and obstruction lighting products under the Flash Technology, ITL, Sabik Marine, Sealite, and Avlite brands. The company markets its products through independent manufacturing representatives, third-party distributors, and retailers, as well as direct to customers. The company was formerly known as SPX Corporation and changed its name to SPX Technologies, Inc. in August 2022. SPX Technologies, Inc. was founded in 1912 and is headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina.

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.