Gentex Corporation (GNTX) - What Are Investment Firms Thinking About This Stock?

Key Points

• Analyst sentiment is cautious: Gentex has a consensus “Hold” rating from seven analysts, with five holds, one buy and one sell. The average 12-month price target is $25.20, though several firms recently lowered targets or downgraded the stock, including Goldman Sachs, which assigned a “Sell” rating.
• Shares are trading near their annual low: GNTX opened at $21.01, compared with a 12-month range of $20.48 to $26.99, and remains below its 50-day and 200-day moving averages.
• Quarterly results beat on earnings but missed on revenue: Gentex reported $0.58 in quarterly EPS versus the $0.50 consensus estimate, while revenue of $651.3 million fell short of expectations and declined 1% year over year. The company also announced a quarterly dividend of $0.12 per share, representing a 2.3% yield.

Shares of Gentex Corporation (NASDAQ:GNTX - Get Free Report) have received an average rating of "Hold" from the seven analysts that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, five have issued a hold recommendation and one has given a buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month target price among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $25.20.

Several research analysts have weighed in on GNTX shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on Gentex from $28.00 to $27.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, August 10th. Freedom Capital lowered Gentex from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 29th. Wall Street Zen lowered Gentex from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Sunday, July 12th. UBS Group lowered their price target on Gentex from $25.00 to $24.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 7th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group downgraded Gentex from a "neutral" rating to a "sell" rating and dropped their price objective for the stock from $23.00 to $20.00 in a report on Tuesday, October 6th.

Gentex Stock Down 0.5%

Shares of NASDAQ:GNTX opened at $21.01 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $22.52 and a two-hundred day moving average of $23.30. Gentex has a 12-month low of $20.48 and a 12-month high of $26.99. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.12 and a beta of 0.86.

Gentex (NASDAQ:GNTX - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, July 24th. The auto parts company reported $0.58 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.50 by $0.08. Gentex had a net margin of 15.50% and a return on equity of 16.78%. The business had revenue of $651.30 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $669.65 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.43 earnings per share. Gentex's revenue for the quarter was down 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts expect that Gentex will post 2.06 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Gentex Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 21st. Investors of record on Wednesday, October 7th will be given a dividend of $0.12 per share. This represents a $0.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, October 7th. Gentex's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 25.40%.

Institutional Trading of Gentex

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. XXEC Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Gentex during the 2nd quarter worth $7,705,220,000. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Gentex in the 2nd quarter valued at $550,287,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its holdings in Gentex by 12.6% in the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 7,463,299 shares of the auto parts company's stock worth $163,067,000 after purchasing an additional 833,919 shares in the last quarter. Caisse de depot et placement du Quebec bought a new stake in Gentex in the second quarter worth $79,924,000. Finally, Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership boosted its holdings in Gentex by 21.7% in the first quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 2,995,044 shares of the auto parts company's stock worth $65,442,000 after purchasing an additional 534,905 shares in the last quarter. 86.76% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Gentex

Gentex Corporation develops, manufactures and supplies technology products for the automotive, aerospace and fire-protection industries. The company is best known for its automatic-dimming rearview mirrors, which use electrochromic technology to reduce glare, as well as related interior and exterior vehicle electronics.

Gentex's automotive portfolio also includes camera-based driver-assistance systems, connected-car technologies, vehicle lighting and sensing products, biometric and occupant-monitoring systems, and integrated electronic features designed to improve vehicle safety, comfort and convenience.

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