Buckhead Capital Management LLC Raises Holdings in Gentex Corporation (NASDAQ:GNTX)

Buckhead Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Gentex Corporation (NASDAQ:GNTX - Free Report) by 35.7% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 158,227 shares of the auto parts company's stock after acquiring an additional 41,609 shares during the period. Buckhead Capital Management LLC owned about 0.07% of Gentex worth $3,687,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of GNTX. Proficio Capital Partners LLC purchased a new position in Gentex in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $892,000. HighTower Advisors LLC grew its stake in Gentex by 11.9% in the 4th quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 105,229 shares of the auto parts company's stock valued at $3,023,000 after buying an additional 11,176 shares in the last quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC grew its stake in Gentex by 2.9% in the 4th quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 268,366 shares of the auto parts company's stock valued at $7,710,000 after buying an additional 7,520 shares in the last quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. raised its holdings in Gentex by 10.3% during the 4th quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 11,634 shares of the auto parts company's stock valued at $334,000 after acquiring an additional 1,090 shares during the period. Finally, Intech Investment Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Gentex by 33.7% during the fourth quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 38,010 shares of the auto parts company's stock worth $1,092,000 after acquiring an additional 9,585 shares in the last quarter. 86.76% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on GNTX shares. Industrial Alliance Securities set a $25.00 price objective on Gentex in a research report on Friday, July 11th. UBS Group reissued a "neutral" rating and issued a $23.00 price target (up previously from $21.00) on shares of Gentex in a research note on Monday, July 14th. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a "neutral" rating on shares of Gentex in a research report on Friday, July 11th. Guggenheim reduced their target price on Gentex from $30.00 to $24.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. Finally, Baird R W lowered Gentex from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Gentex currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $28.28.

Gentex Price Performance

NASDAQ GNTX traded down $0.19 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $22.94. The stock had a trading volume of 2,803,326 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,930,518. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $22.24 and a 200 day moving average price of $23.60. Gentex Corporation has a 1 year low of $20.28 and a 1 year high of $33.57. The stock has a market cap of $5.16 billion, a PE ratio of 13.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.16 and a beta of 0.81.

Gentex (NASDAQ:GNTX - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, April 25th. The auto parts company reported $0.43 EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.43. Gentex had a return on equity of 16.11% and a net margin of 17.01%. The company had revenue of $576.77 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $578.68 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.47 earnings per share. Gentex's revenue was down 2.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Gentex Corporation will post 2.04 earnings per share for the current year.

Gentex Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 23rd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, July 9th will be given a $0.12 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, July 9th. This represents a $0.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.09%. Gentex's payout ratio is 28.07%.

Gentex announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase program on Wednesday, July 16th that authorizes the company to repurchase 40,000,000 shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the auto parts company to repurchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are usually an indication that the company's leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling at Gentex

In related news, Director Joseph B. Anderson, Jr. sold 3,764 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, May 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $22.87, for a total transaction of $86,082.68. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 5,939 shares in the company, valued at approximately $135,824.93. This represents a 38.79% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.45% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Gentex 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.