Gentex (NASDAQ:GNTX) Downgraded to “Hold” at StockNews.com

StockNews.com lowered shares of Gentex (NASDAQ:GNTX) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research report sent to investors on Monday morning.

GNTX has been the subject of a number of other reports. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on Gentex from $31.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a 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 company a neutral rating in a research report on Thursday, January 25th. B. Riley raised their price target on shares of Gentex from $42.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a report on Wednesday, March 20th. Finally, Guggenheim lifted their price target on shares of Gentex from $40.00 to $41.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 17th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Gentex currently has a consensus rating of Hold and an average price target of $37.83.

Gentex Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ GNTX opened at $33.96 on Monday. Gentex has a 52-week low of $25.86 and a 52-week high of $37.58. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $35.63 and its 200-day moving average price is $33.15. The company has a market capitalization of $7.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.97, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.73 and a beta of 0.99.

Gentex (NASDAQ:GNTX) last issued its quarterly 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). Gentex had a net margin of 18.77% and a return on equity of 19.19%. The firm had revenue of $590.23 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $600.38 million. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.42 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 7.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts forecast that Gentex will post 2.17 earnings per share for the current year.

Gentex Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 17th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 5th were paid a dividend of $0.12 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, April 4th. This represents a $0.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.41%. Gentex’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 25.40%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO Kevin C. Nash sold 13,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, 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 available at this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.41% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Gentex

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its stake in shares of 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 bought a new stake in Gentex in the 4th quarter worth about $89,843,000. First Trust Advisors LP grew its position in Gentex by 301.6% in the 4th quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 2,568,775 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $83,896,000 after purchasing an additional 1,929,150 shares in the last quarter. TD Asset Management Inc increased its stake in Gentex by 58.1% in 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 buying an additional 1,217,278 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Leeward Investments LLC MA bought a new position in shares of Gentex during the 1st quarter worth approximately $28,289,000. 86.76% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.