Gentex Co. (NASDAQ:GNTX) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Hold” from Analysts

Shares of Gentex Co. (NASDAQ:GNTX) have been assigned an average recommendation of “Hold” from the seven analysts that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and three have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year price objective among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $36.29.

A number of research firms recently commented on GNTX. UBS Group assumed coverage on shares of Gentex in a research report on Wednesday, September 4th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $34.00 target price on the stock. Robert W. Baird cut their target price on Gentex from $40.00 to $38.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, July 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on Gentex from $36.00 to $35.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, July 22nd. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price target on Gentex from $33.00 to $31.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, BNP Paribas cut Gentex from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $34.00 price objective for the company. in a research note on Tuesday, July 30th.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, major shareholder Corp Gentex bought 3,152,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 23rd. The shares were acquired at an average price of $5.00 per share, with a total value of $15,762,500.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the insider now directly owns 6,463,808 shares in the company, valued at $32,319,040. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.41% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Gentex

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of GNTX. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in Gentex by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 22,280,716 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $727,688,000 after acquiring an additional 163,373 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its holdings in shares of Gentex by 27.9% in the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 8,728,378 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $285,069,000 after purchasing an additional 1,905,356 shares in the last quarter. Boston Partners lifted its stake in shares of Gentex by 4.2% in the first quarter. Boston Partners now owns 5,706,411 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $206,095,000 after purchasing an additional 230,873 shares during the period. TD Asset Management Inc boosted its holdings in Gentex by 41.2% during the first quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 4,677,655 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $168,957,000 after buying an additional 1,363,898 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Burgundy Asset Management Ltd. grew its position in Gentex by 3.0% during the second quarter. Burgundy Asset Management Ltd. now owns 4,343,880 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $146,432,000 after buying an additional 126,416 shares during the period. 86.76% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Gentex Stock Performance

NASDAQ:GNTX opened at $29.47 on Friday. Gentex has a 1 year low of $27.86 and a 1 year high of $37.58. The stock has a market cap of $6.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.59, a P/E/G ratio of 0.99 and a beta of 0.92. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $30.07 and a 200-day simple moving average of $32.99.

Gentex (NASDAQ:GNTX) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, July 26th. The auto parts company reported $0.37 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.52 by ($0.15). The business had revenue of $572.93 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $623.28 million. Gentex had a net margin of 17.87% and a return on equity of 17.78%. On average, equities research analysts predict that Gentex will post 1.96 EPS for the current year.

Gentex Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 23rd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, October 9th will be issued a $0.12 dividend. This represents a $0.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.63%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, October 9th. Gentex’s payout ratio is currently 25.40%.

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.