Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. Invests $26.28 Million in Gentex Corporation $GNTX

Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. acquired a new position in Gentex Corporation (NASDAQ:GNTX) during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 928,729 shares of the auto parts company’s stock, valued at approximately $26,283,000. Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. owned about 0.42% of Gentex as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of GNTX. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC lifted its holdings in Gentex by 142.3% during the 1st 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 buying an additional 2,695,117 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Gentex by 60.5% in the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 6,611,258 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $145,382,000 after acquiring an additional 2,492,026 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Gentex in the second quarter worth approximately $51,815,000. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd boosted its holdings in Gentex by 370.8% in the second quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd now owns 2,615,981 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $57,525,000 after acquiring an additional 2,060,287 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Global Alpha Capital Management Ltd. acquired a new stake in Gentex during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $19,318,000. 86.76% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Gentex Trading Up 0.4%

NASDAQ:GNTX opened at $23.47 on Friday. Gentex Corporation has a 12 month low of $20.28 and a 12 month high of $29.52. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.81 and a beta of 0.78. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $23.46 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $25.00.

Gentex (NASDAQ:GNTX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, October 24th. The auto parts company reported $0.46 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.47 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $570.32 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $661.10 million. Gentex had a net margin of 15.61% and a return on equity of 15.86%. Gentex’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.53 EPS. Equities analysts predict that Gentex Corporation will post 2.04 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Gentex Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 21st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, January 7th will be paid a $0.12 dividend. This represents a $0.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, January 7th. Gentex’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 28.24%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on GNTX shares. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $27.00 price target on shares of Gentex and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, October 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Gentex from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, October 20th. Zacks Research cut shares of Gentex from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, September 19th. UBS Group reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $29.00 price target (up from $28.00) on shares of Gentex in a report on Monday, October 6th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Gentex in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $28.29.

About Gentex

Gentex Corporation (NASDAQ: GNTX) is a global technology company specializing in the design and manufacture of automotive and aerospace products. The company’s primary business centers on automatic-dimming rearview mirrors, advanced driver-assistance systems (ADAS), and camera-based driver monitoring technologies. In the automotive sector, Gentex supplies exterior and interior mirrors with integrated electronics, connectivity features, and safety capabilities to many of the world’s leading original equipment manufacturers (OEMs).