Gentex (NASDAQ:GNTX) Upgraded to “Buy” by StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Gentex (NASDAQ:GNTX) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a report published on Tuesday.

A number of other research analysts also recently issued reports on GNTX. B. Riley boosted their price target on Gentex from $42.00 to $44.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a report on Wednesday, March 20th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on shares of Gentex from $31.00 to $35.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a research report on Monday, January 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Gentex from $36.00 to $37.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a research report on Thursday, January 25th. Finally, Guggenheim raised their target price on Gentex from $40.00 to $41.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 17th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Gentex presently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $37.83.

Gentex Price Performance

GNTX stock opened at $34.66 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $8.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.75 and a beta of 0.98. Gentex has a 12 month low of $25.86 and a 12 month high of $37.58. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $35.49 and its 200-day simple moving average is $33.27.

Gentex (NASDAQ:GNTX) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 26th. The auto parts company reported $0.47 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.48 by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $590.23 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $600.38 million. Gentex had a net margin of 18.77% and a return on equity of 19.19%. Gentex’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.42 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Gentex will post 2.11 earnings per share for the current year.

Gentex Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 17th. Investors of record on Friday, April 5th were given a dividend of $0.12 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, April 4th. This represents a $0.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.38%. Gentex’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 25.40%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Kevin C. Nash sold 13,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $33.04, for a total value of $446,040.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 44,321 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,464,365.84. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Company insiders own 0.41% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Gentex

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. acquired a new position in shares of Gentex in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $2,031,000. Raymond James & Associates boosted its stake in Gentex by 2.7% in the third quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 561,284 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $18,264,000 after acquiring an additional 14,596 shares in the last quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank grew its stake in Gentex by 20.7% during the 3rd quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 47,302 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $1,539,000 after buying an additional 8,111 shares during the last quarter. Strs Ohio grew its position in shares of Gentex by 17.4% during the third quarter. Strs Ohio now owns 74,696 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $2,430,000 after acquiring an additional 11,068 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Advisor Partners II LLC increased its stake in Gentex by 60.5% in the third quarter. Advisor Partners II LLC now owns 35,601 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $1,158,000 after purchasing an additional 13,420 shares during the period. 86.76% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Gentex Company Profile

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.