Short Interest in Gentex Co. (NASDAQ:GNTX) Decreases By 12.2%

Gentex Co. (NASDAQ:GNTX) was the target of a significant decrease in short interest in the month of August. As of August 31st, there was short interest totalling 2,670,000 shares, a decrease of 12.2% from the August 15th total of 3,040,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 1,280,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.1 days. Currently, 1.2% of the company’s shares are sold short.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Bank of America raised Gentex from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $26.00 to $33.00 in a research report on Thursday, July 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Gentex from $28.00 to $30.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, July 20th. Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on Gentex from $35.00 to $37.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, July 31st. StockNews.com initiated coverage on Gentex in a research note on Thursday, August 17th. They issued a “buy” rating on the stock. Finally, B. Riley lifted their price target on Gentex from $35.00 to $40.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, July 31st. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $32.50.

Gentex Trading Down 0.6 %

Shares of GNTX opened at $32.04 on Monday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $32.26 and a 200 day moving average of $29.24. Gentex has a 12 month low of $23.28 and a 12 month high of $34.33. The company has a market capitalization of $7.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.41, a PEG ratio of 0.79 and a beta of 0.96.

Gentex (NASDAQ:GNTX) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, July 28th. The auto parts company reported $0.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.40 by $0.07. Gentex had a return on equity of 17.37% and a net margin of 17.23%. The company had revenue of $583.47 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $539.04 million. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Gentex will post 1.76 earnings per share for the current year.

Gentex Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 18th. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 6th will be given a $0.12 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 5th. This represents a $0.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.50%. Gentex’s dividend payout ratio is currently 30.57%.

Insider Activity

In other Gentex news, Director Kathleen Starkoff sold 4,430 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $33.20, for a total value of $147,076.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 21,441 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $711,841.20. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 0.16% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Gentex

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in GNTX. Belpointe Asset Management LLC increased its stake in Gentex by 414.3% in the 1st quarter. Belpointe Asset Management LLC now owns 900 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 725 shares in the last quarter. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Gentex during the first quarter valued at approximately $50,000. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC acquired a new stake in Gentex in the first quarter valued at approximately $53,000. Covestor Ltd boosted its stake in Gentex by 79.2% in the first quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 1,887 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $55,000 after acquiring an additional 834 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Gentex during the second quarter worth $58,000. 84.60% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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, 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.