Gentex (NASDAQ:GNTX) Shares Gap Up – What’s Next?

Gentex Co. (NASDAQ:GNTX) shares gapped up before the market opened on Friday . The stock had previously closed at $29.66, but opened at $31.00. Gentex shares last traded at $31.10, with a volume of 343,200 shares traded.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently commented on the company. UBS Group initiated coverage on Gentex in a research report on Wednesday, September 4th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $34.00 price target on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on shares of Gentex from $36.00 to $35.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, July 22nd. StockNews.com lowered shares of Gentex from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 4th. B. Riley lowered their price objective on shares of Gentex from $44.00 to $41.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, July 29th. Finally, Bank of America reduced their target price on Gentex from $39.00 to $35.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, October 14th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Gentex has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $36.13.

Gentex Price Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $7.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.52, a P/E/G ratio of 0.95 and a beta of 0.92. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $29.90 and its 200-day moving average price is $32.27.

Gentex (NASDAQ:GNTX) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, July 26th. The auto parts company reported $0.37 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.52 by ($0.15). The business had revenue of $572.93 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $623.28 million. Gentex had a net margin of 17.87% and a return on equity of 17.78%. On average, research analysts predict that Gentex Co. will post 1.96 earnings per share for the current year.

Gentex Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, October 23rd. Investors of record on Wednesday, October 9th were given a dividend of $0.12 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, October 9th. This represents a $0.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.53%. Gentex’s payout ratio is 25.40%.

Insider Activity

In related news, major shareholder Corp Gentex bought 3,152,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 23rd. The shares were bought at an average price of $5.00 per share, for a total transaction of $15,762,500.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the insider now directly owns 6,463,808 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $32,319,040. This trade represents a 0.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 0.41% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Gentex

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Boston Partners increased its stake in Gentex by 4.2% in the first quarter. Boston Partners now owns 5,706,411 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $206,095,000 after acquiring an additional 230,873 shares during the last quarter. TD Asset Management Inc grew its position in Gentex by 41.2% during the first quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 4,677,655 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $168,957,000 after acquiring an additional 1,363,898 shares during the last quarter. Burgundy Asset Management Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Gentex by 3.0% during the second quarter. Burgundy Asset Management Ltd. now owns 4,343,880 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $146,432,000 after acquiring an additional 126,416 shares in the last quarter. Disciplined Growth Investors Inc. MN lifted its holdings in shares of Gentex by 1.0% in the 2nd quarter. Disciplined Growth Investors Inc. MN now owns 4,259,831 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $143,599,000 after acquiring an additional 43,457 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its stake in shares of Gentex by 14.0% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,989,248 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $134,475,000 after purchasing an additional 489,689 shares in the last quarter. 86.76% 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, 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.