Gentex Co. (NASDAQ:GNTX) Given Average Rating of “Hold” by Analysts

Gentex Co. (NASDAQ:GNTX) has received a consensus rating of “Hold” from the seven brokerages that are covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. The average 12-month price target among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $36.86.

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on GNTX shares. StockNews.com cut shares of Gentex from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 4th. B. Riley dropped their price target on Gentex from $44.00 to $41.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, July 29th. UBS Group initiated coverage on Gentex in a research report on Wednesday, September 4th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $34.00 price objective on the stock. Robert W. Baird lowered their target price on Gentex from $40.00 to $38.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, July 29th. Finally, BNP Paribas lowered Gentex from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $34.00 price target on the stock. in a research note on Tuesday, July 30th.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, major shareholder Corp Gentex purchased 3,152,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 23rd. The stock was bought at an average price of $5.00 per share, for a total transaction of $15,762,500.00. Following the purchase, the insider now directly owns 6,463,808 shares in the company, valued at approximately $32,319,040. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.41% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Gentex

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in GNTX. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. grew its position in Gentex by 129.7% during the fourth quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 111,827 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $3,652,000 after buying an additional 63,152 shares in the last quarter. TD Asset Management Inc grew its holdings in shares of Gentex by 58.1% during the fourth quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 3,313,757 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $108,227,000 after purchasing an additional 1,217,278 shares in the last quarter. Thematics Asset Management increased its position in shares of Gentex by 51.2% in the fourth quarter. Thematics Asset Management now owns 523,207 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $17,088,000 after purchasing an additional 177,207 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake 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 valued at $727,688,000 after purchasing an additional 163,373 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cetera Investment Advisers lifted its position in Gentex by 91.0% during the first quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 127,876 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $4,619,000 after purchasing an additional 60,934 shares during the last quarter. 86.76% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Gentex Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:GNTX opened at $29.83 on Tuesday. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $31.46 and its 200 day simple moving average is $33.76. Gentex has a 1 year low of $27.86 and a 1 year high of $37.58. The company has a market capitalization of $6.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.78, a P/E/G ratio of 0.99 and a beta of 0.92.

Gentex (NASDAQ:GNTX) last released its earnings results on Friday, July 26th. The auto parts company reported $0.37 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.52 by ($0.15). The firm had revenue of $572.93 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $623.28 million. Gentex had a net margin of 17.87% and a return on equity of 17.78%. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Gentex will post 1.96 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Gentex Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 23rd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, October 9th will be given a $0.12 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, October 9th. This represents a $0.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.61%. 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.