Gentex Corporation (NASDAQ:GNTX) Receives Average Recommendation of “Hold” from Brokerages

Gentex Corporation (NASDAQ:GNTX) has received an average recommendation of “Hold” from the nine research firms that are covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average 1-year price target among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $26.7143.

Several brokerages recently commented on GNTX. UBS Group set a $25.00 price objective on shares of Gentex in a research report on Monday, February 2nd. B. Riley Financial decreased their target price on shares of Gentex from $32.00 to $28.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 2nd. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Gentex in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. Robert W. Baird set a $26.00 price target on shares of Gentex in a research report on Wednesday, January 14th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Gentex from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Sunday, March 8th.

Gentex Trading Up 2.1%

Shares of NASDAQ:GNTX opened at $21.85 on Wednesday. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $23.00 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $24.07. Gentex has a 12-month low of $20.28 and a 12-month high of $29.38. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.56 and a beta of 0.76.

Gentex (NASDAQ:GNTX) last released its earnings results on Friday, January 30th. The auto parts company reported $0.44 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.43 by $0.01. Gentex had a return on equity of 16.05% and a net margin of 15.19%.The firm had revenue of $644.40 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $650.90 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.39 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 19.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Gentex will post 2.04 EPS for the current year.

Gentex Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 22nd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 8th will be issued a $0.12 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 8th. This represents a $0.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.2%. Gentex’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 27.59%.

Insider Transactions at Gentex

In related news, CTO Neil Boehm sold 11,248 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $24.82, for a total transaction of $279,175.36. Following the sale, the chief technology officer directly owned 58,951 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,463,163.82. This trade represents a 16.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Steven R. Downing sold 35,000 shares of Gentex stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $24.75, for a total value of $866,250.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 211,670 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,238,832.50. The trade was a 14.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 58,133 shares of company stock worth $1,442,313 over the last quarter. 0.45% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Gentex

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Hsbc Holdings PLC raised its holdings in shares of Gentex by 308.9% during the fourth quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 134,570 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $3,141,000 after purchasing an additional 101,656 shares during the last quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. boosted its holdings in Gentex by 269.9% in the fourth quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. now owns 18,816 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $438,000 after purchasing an additional 13,729 shares during the last quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC grew its position in Gentex by 49.2% in the 4th quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 66,612 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $1,551,000 after purchasing an additional 21,963 shares during the period. Arwa LLC bought a new stake in Gentex in the 4th quarter worth approximately $402,000. Finally, DGS Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Gentex during the 4th quarter valued at $260,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.76% of the company’s stock.

Gentex Company Profile

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).