Gentex (NASDAQ:GNTX) Shares Gap Down to $34.65

Gentex Co. (NASDAQ:GNTX) gapped down prior to trading on Friday . The stock had previously closed at $34.65, but opened at $33.73. Gentex shares last traded at $34.16, with a volume of 413,466 shares trading hands.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently commented on GNTX. Guggenheim increased their price objective on shares of Gentex from $40.00 to $41.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 17th. StockNews.com raised shares of Gentex from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 23rd. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on shares of Gentex from $31.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, January 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Gentex from $36.00 to $37.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 25th. Finally, B. Riley raised their price target on shares of Gentex from $42.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 20th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $37.83.

Gentex Price Performance

The company’s 50-day moving average is $35.67 and its 200-day moving average is $33.09. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.86, a PEG ratio of 0.73 and a beta of 0.99.

Gentex (NASDAQ:GNTX) last released its earnings results on Friday, April 26th. The auto parts company reported $0.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.47. Gentex had a net margin of 18.63% and a return on equity of 19.25%. The business had revenue of $590.23 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $600.38 million. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.42 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 7.2% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Gentex Co. will post 2.17 earnings per share for the current year.

Gentex Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 17th. Investors of record on Friday, April 5th were given a $0.12 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, April 4th. This represents a $0.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.38%. Gentex’s dividend payout ratio is presently 26.09%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Kevin C. Nash sold 13,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $33.04, for a total value of $446,040.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 44,321 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,464,365.84. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, Director Richard O. Schaum sold 6,022 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $33.93, for a total value of $204,326.46. Following the transaction, the director now owns 62,555 shares in the company, valued at $2,122,491.15. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CFO Kevin C. Nash sold 13,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $33.04, for a total transaction of $446,040.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 44,321 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,464,365.84. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.41% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings 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 buying an additional 163,373 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its holdings in Gentex by 27.9% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 8,728,378 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $285,069,000 after buying an additional 1,905,356 shares during the period. Burgundy Asset Management Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Gentex by 8.5% during the fourth quarter. Burgundy Asset Management Ltd. now owns 4,169,029 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $136,160,000 after purchasing an additional 325,687 shares during the period. TD Asset Management Inc raised its stake 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 valued at $108,227,000 after purchasing an additional 1,217,278 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Gentex during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $89,843,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.76% of the company’s stock.

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.