Gentex (NASDAQ:GNTX) Hits New 12-Month Low – Should You Sell?

Gentex Corporation (NASDAQ:GNTX)’s stock price reached a new 52-week low during trading on Monday. The stock traded as low as $19.72 and last traded at $19.77, with a volume of 234,372 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $19.88.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently commented on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group downgraded Gentex from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and reduced their price target for the company from $23.00 to $20.00 in a report on Tuesday, October 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on Gentex from $27.00 to $26.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, October 26th. UBS Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $21.00 target price (down from $24.00) on shares of Gentex in a research report on Monday, October 26th. Freedom Capital cut Gentex from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 29th. Finally, Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Gentex from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $23.08.

Gentex Price Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $3.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.95 and a beta of 0.85. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $21.47 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $22.97.

Gentex (NASDAQ:GNTX) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, October 23rd. The auto parts company reported $0.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.50 by ($0.03). Gentex had a return on equity of 16.67% and a net margin of 15.15%. The business had revenue of $647.71 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $669.69 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.46 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 1.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Gentex Corporation will post 2.02 EPS for the current year.

Gentex Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, October 21st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, October 7th were paid a $0.12 dividend. This represents a $0.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.5%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, October 7th. Gentex’s payout ratio is presently 25.81%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Gentex

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. XXEC Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Gentex in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $7,705,220,000. BlackRock Inc. bought a new position in Gentex during the 2nd quarter worth $550,287,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its stake in Gentex by 12.6% during the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 7,463,299 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $163,067,000 after buying an additional 833,919 shares during the last quarter. Caisse de depot et placement du Quebec bought a new position in Gentex during the 2nd quarter worth $79,924,000. Finally, Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership increased its position in Gentex by 21.7% in the first quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 2,995,044 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $65,442,000 after buying an additional 534,905 shares during the period. 86.76% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Gentex Company Profile

Gentex Corporation is a technology company headquartered in Zeeland, Michigan. It develops and manufactures products primarily for the global automotive industry, including automatic-dimming rearview and exterior mirrors, camera-based visibility systems, and other electronic features for vehicles. Its automotive offerings also include HomeLink, a vehicle-based wireless control system for compatible garage doors, gates, and home devices. Gentex supplies automakers around the world and works with customers to integrate its products into new vehicles.