Gentex Co. (NASDAQ:GNTX) Given Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Analysts

Shares of Gentex Co. (NASDAQ:GNTX) have earned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the six analysts that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating on the company. The average twelve-month price objective among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $37.83.

A number of research firms have issued reports on GNTX. Guggenheim increased their price objective on Gentex from $40.00 to $41.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 17th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Gentex from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on shares of Gentex from $31.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, January 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Gentex from $36.00 to $37.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, January 25th. Finally, B. Riley upped their price target on shares of Gentex from $42.00 to $44.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 20th.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Richard O. Schaum sold 6,022 shares of Gentex stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $33.93, for a total value of $204,326.46. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 62,555 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,122,491.15. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, CFO Kevin C. Nash sold 13,500 shares of Gentex stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $33.04, for a total transaction of $446,040.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 44,321 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,464,365.84. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Richard O. Schaum sold 6,022 shares of Gentex stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $33.93, for a total transaction of $204,326.46. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 62,555 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,122,491.15. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.41% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Gentex

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its holdings in Gentex by 95.4% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 6,823,022 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $222,021,000 after acquiring an additional 3,330,502 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Gentex during the 4th quarter valued at about $89,843,000. First Trust Advisors LP boosted its position in shares of Gentex by 301.6% during the 4th quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 2,568,775 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $83,896,000 after acquiring an additional 1,929,150 shares during the last quarter. TD Asset Management Inc boosted its position in shares of Gentex by 58.1% during the 4th quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 3,313,757 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $108,227,000 after acquiring an additional 1,217,278 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Leeward Investments LLC MA acquired a new position in Gentex in the first quarter valued at about $28,289,000. 86.76% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Gentex Stock Performance

Shares of GNTX stock opened at $34.30 on Wednesday. Gentex has a fifty-two week low of $25.86 and a fifty-two week high of $37.58. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $35.65 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $33.15. The company has a market capitalization of $7.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.15, a PEG ratio of 0.73 and a beta of 0.99.

Gentex (NASDAQ:GNTX) last announced its earnings results on Friday, April 26th. The auto parts company reported $0.47 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.48 by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $590.23 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $600.38 million. Gentex had a net margin of 18.77% and a return on equity of 19.19%. Gentex’s revenue was up 7.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.42 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Gentex will post 2.17 earnings per share for the current year.

Gentex Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 17th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 5th were issued a $0.12 dividend. This represents a $0.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.40%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 4th. Gentex’s dividend payout ratio is currently 25.40%.

About Gentex

Gentex Corporation designs, develops, manufactures, markets, and supplies digital vision, connected car, dimmable glass, and fire protection products in the United States, Germany, Japan, Mexico, Republic of Korea, and internationally. It operates through Automotive Products and Other segments. The company offers automotive products, including interior and exterior electrochromic automatic-dimming rearview mirrors, automotive electronics, and non-automatic-dimming rearview mirrors for automotive passenger cars, light trucks, pick-up trucks, sport utility vehicles, and vans for original equipment manufacturers, automotive suppliers, and various aftermarket and accessory customers.