Retirement Systems of Alabama Raises Holdings in Gentex Corporation $GNTX

Retirement Systems of Alabama increased its holdings in Gentex Corporation (NASDAQ:GNTX) by 8.6% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 659,755 shares of the auto parts company’s stock after acquiring an additional 52,502 shares during the period. Retirement Systems of Alabama’s holdings in Gentex were worth $14,508,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in GNTX. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. grew its position in Gentex by 487.7% in the first quarter. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. now owns 3,447,651 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $80,330,000 after acquiring an additional 2,860,969 shares during the period. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC grew its position in Gentex by 142.3% in the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 4,589,585 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $106,937,000 after acquiring an additional 2,695,117 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. grew its position in Gentex by 148.5% in the first quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 4,119,232 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $95,978,000 after acquiring an additional 2,461,835 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its stake in shares of Gentex by 46.2% in the first quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 7,673,701 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $178,797,000 after buying an additional 2,424,471 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Burgundy Asset Management Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Gentex by 40.1% in the first quarter. Burgundy Asset Management Ltd. now owns 7,728,209 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $180,067,000 after buying an additional 2,211,392 shares in the last quarter. 86.76% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Gentex Trading Down 0.5%

NASDAQ:GNTX opened at $23.45 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $5.15 billion, a PE ratio of 13.79 and a beta of 0.84. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $27.18 and a 200 day moving average price of $24.65. Gentex Corporation has a 12-month low of $20.28 and a 12-month high of $31.41.

Gentex (NASDAQ:GNTX) last released its earnings results on Friday, October 24th. The auto parts company reported $0.46 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.47 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $655.24 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $661.10 million. Gentex had a net margin of 15.61% and a return on equity of 15.86%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.53 earnings per share. Gentex has set its FY 2025 guidance at EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Gentex Corporation will post 2.04 EPS for the current year.

Gentex declared that its board has initiated a share buyback plan on Wednesday, July 16th that authorizes the company to repurchase 40,000,000 shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the auto parts company to repurchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Gentex Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, October 22nd. Investors of record on Wednesday, October 8th were issued a $0.12 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, October 8th. This represents a $0.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.0%. Gentex’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 28.24%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Wall Street Zen raised Gentex from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, July 26th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Gentex in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $27.00 price objective on Gentex and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, October 27th. Industrial Alliance Securities set a $25.00 price objective on Gentex in a research note on Friday, July 11th. Finally, UBS Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $29.00 price objective (up from $28.00) on shares of Gentex in a research note on Monday, October 6th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $28.29.

Gentex 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.