Bank of Nova Scotia Trims Stock Position in Gentex Corporation $GNTX

Key Points

• Bank of Nova Scotia cut its Gentex stake by 90.3% in the first quarter, leaving it with 22,871 shares valued at approximately $500,000. Institutional investors collectively own 86.76% of Gentex.
• Analyst sentiment remains mixed but leans neutral: Gentex has an average “Hold” rating and a consensus price target of $27, with targets ranging from $26 to $29.
• Gentex exceeded quarterly EPS expectations, reporting $0.58 versus the $0.50 consensus, although revenue of $651.3 million fell short of estimates and declined 1% year over year. The company also maintains a $0.12 quarterly dividend, yielding about 2%.

Bank of Nova Scotia trimmed its stake in shares of Gentex Corporation (NASDAQ:GNTX - Free Report) by 90.3% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 22,871 shares of the auto parts company's stock after selling 213,983 shares during the quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia's holdings in Gentex were worth $500,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its holdings in shares of Gentex by 10.3% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 14,828,120 shares of the auto parts company's stock worth $419,636,000 after purchasing an additional 1,383,203 shares during the period. Bank of Montreal Can lifted its stake in shares of Gentex by 14,398.7% in the 4th quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 7,726,057 shares of the auto parts company's stock worth $179,785,000 after acquiring an additional 7,672,769 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its holdings in Gentex by 12.6% in the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 7,463,299 shares of the auto parts company's stock valued at $163,067,000 after purchasing an additional 833,919 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its position in Gentex by 1.0% during the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 7,439,333 shares of the auto parts company's stock worth $163,591,000 after purchasing an additional 74,779 shares during the period. Finally, Boston Partners raised its stake in shares of Gentex by 2.1% during the 3rd quarter. Boston Partners now owns 5,912,491 shares of the auto parts company's stock worth $167,299,000 after buying an additional 123,731 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.76% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Gentex from a "hold (c-)" rating to a "hold (c)" rating in a report on Tuesday, June 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Gentex from $27.00 to $28.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 14th. Robert W. Baird upped their price target on Gentex from $25.00 to $26.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, April 27th. B. Riley Financial reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $29.00 price objective (up from $28.00) on shares of Gentex in a research note on Monday, April 27th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut Gentex from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Sunday, July 12th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has assigned a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Gentex currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $27.00.

Gentex Stock Performance

GNTX stock opened at $23.64 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $24.55 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $23.50. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.51 and a beta of 0.78. Gentex Corporation has a one year low of $20.48 and a one year high of $29.38.

Gentex (NASDAQ:GNTX - Get Free Report) last issued 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. The company had revenue of $651.30 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $669.65 million. Gentex had a return on equity of 16.78% and a net margin of 15.50%.The business's revenue for the quarter was down 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.43 EPS. Research analysts forecast that Gentex Corporation will post 1.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Gentex Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 22nd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, July 8th were issued a dividend of $0.12 per share. This represents a $0.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.0%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, July 8th. Gentex's dividend payout ratio is presently 25.40%.

Insider Activity at Gentex

In related news, Director Brian C. Walker sold 5,939 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $22.98, for a total value of $136,478.22. Following the sale, the director directly owned 24,205 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $556,230.90. This trade represents a 19.70% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Joseph B. Anderson, Jr. sold 5,939 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $22.98, for a total transaction of $136,478.22. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 0.55% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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).

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