Dark Forest Capital Management LP Makes New Investment in Gentex Co. (NASDAQ:GNTX)

Dark Forest Capital Management LP acquired a new stake in shares of Gentex Co. (NASDAQ:GNTX - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm acquired 31,776 shares of the auto parts company's stock, valued at approximately $913,000.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in GNTX. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its holdings in shares of Gentex by 179.7% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,000,796 shares of the auto parts company's stock valued at $59,404,000 after purchasing an additional 1,285,519 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its position in shares of Gentex by 16.1% during the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 2,787,311 shares of the auto parts company's stock worth $80,079,000 after buying an additional 386,461 shares in the last quarter. LPL Financial LLC increased its stake in shares of Gentex by 31.6% during the fourth quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 189,254 shares of the auto parts company's stock valued at $5,437,000 after buying an additional 45,475 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Gentex in the fourth quarter valued at about $24,479,000. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP purchased a new stake in Gentex in the fourth quarter worth about $10,868,000. 86.76% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Gentex Price Performance

NASDAQ:GNTX traded up $0.19 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $21.98. 464,326 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,720,189. Gentex Co. has a 52-week low of $20.28 and a 52-week high of $35.33. The company's 50 day moving average price is $23.18 and its 200-day moving average price is $26.80. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.45, a PEG ratio of 0.84 and a beta of 0.84.

Gentex (NASDAQ:GNTX - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Friday, April 25th. The auto parts company reported $0.43 EPS for the quarter, meeting analysts' consensus estimates of $0.43. The firm had revenue of $576.77 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $578.68 million. Gentex had a return on equity of 16.74% and a net margin of 17.49%. Gentex's revenue for the quarter was down 2.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.47 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that Gentex Co. will post 2.04 earnings per share for the current year.

Gentex Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 23rd. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 9th were paid a $0.12 dividend. This represents a $0.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.18%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, April 9th. Gentex's dividend payout ratio is currently 28.07%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

GNTX has been the subject of several recent research reports. UBS Group reduced their price target on shares of Gentex from $29.00 to $21.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 10th. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price objective on shares of Gentex from $28.00 to $23.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 10th. B. Riley reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $32.50 target price (down previously from $37.00) on shares of Gentex in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Robert W. Baird reissued a "neutral" rating and issued a $25.00 price target (down from $31.00) on shares of Gentex in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. Finally, Guggenheim reduced their target price on shares of Gentex from $30.00 to $24.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $28.31.

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.