Gentex Co. (NASDAQ:GNTX) Given Consensus Rating of “Hold” by Brokerages

Gentex Co. (NASDAQ:GNTX) has earned an average recommendation of “Hold” from the eight analysts that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 12-month price objective among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $31.81.

Several brokerages have commented on GNTX. B. Riley reissued a “buy” rating and set a $32.50 target price (down previously from $37.00) on shares of Gentex in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Guggenheim set a $30.00 price objective on shares of Gentex in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Robert W. Baird set a $31.00 target price on shares of Gentex in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. UBS Group decreased their target price on shares of Gentex from $30.00 to $29.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on Gentex from $34.00 to $32.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, February 3rd.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its stake in shares of Gentex by 162.4% in the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 5,249,230 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $150,810,000 after buying an additional 3,248,434 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Gentex in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $51,959,000. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its position in Gentex by 6.1% during the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 18,023,056 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $517,802,000 after purchasing an additional 1,038,912 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Gentex in the 4th quarter worth approximately $24,479,000. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Gentex by 66.9% in the 4th quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,657,397 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $47,617,000 after purchasing an additional 664,389 shares during the last quarter. 86.76% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Gentex Trading Up 1.0 %

NASDAQ GNTX opened at $24.76 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $25.37 and its 200 day simple moving average is $28.14. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.07, a P/E/G ratio of 0.84 and a beta of 0.90. Gentex has a 1 year low of $23.50 and a 1 year high of $36.46.

Gentex (NASDAQ:GNTX) last issued its earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The auto parts company reported $0.39 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.49 by ($0.10). Gentex had a net margin of 17.49% and a return on equity of 16.74%. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.50 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Gentex will post 2.04 earnings per share for the current year.

Gentex Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 23rd. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 9th will be paid a $0.12 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 9th. This represents a $0.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.94%. Gentex’s dividend payout ratio is 27.27%.

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.