Comerica Bank Increases Stock Position in Gentex Corporation $GNTX

Key Points

• Comerica Bank increased its stake in Gentex Corporation by 12.6%, acquiring an additional 12,990 shares, bringing its total ownership to 115,687 shares valued at approximately $2.69 million.
• Gentex reported a quarterly earnings per share of $0.47, exceeding analysts' expectations of $0.39, with a revenue of $657.86 million for the quarter, up 14.8% from the previous year.
• The company has authorized a share repurchase plan allowing for the buyback of up to 40 million shares, indicating management's belief that the stock is currently undervalued.

Comerica Bank increased its stake in shares of Gentex Corporation (NASDAQ:GNTX - Free Report) by 12.6% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 115,687 shares of the auto parts company's stock after buying an additional 12,990 shares during the quarter. Comerica Bank owned about 0.05% of Gentex worth $2,696,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Gentex by 4.0% in the 1st quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,622,237 shares of the auto parts company's stock valued at $37,798,000 after purchasing an additional 62,137 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Gentex by 0.4% in the 1st quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 523,489 shares of the auto parts company's stock valued at $12,197,000 after purchasing an additional 1,923 shares in the last quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. boosted its holdings in Gentex by 5.9% in the 1st quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 219,454 shares of the auto parts company's stock valued at $5,113,000 after purchasing an additional 12,168 shares in the last quarter. Praxis Investment Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Gentex in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $359,000. Finally, Speece Thorson Capital Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Gentex by 18.3% in the 1st quarter. Speece Thorson Capital Group Inc. now owns 682,684 shares of the auto parts company's stock valued at $15,907,000 after purchasing an additional 105,446 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.76% of the company's stock.

Gentex Stock Up 1.0%

Shares of Gentex stock traded up $0.27 during trading on Thursday, hitting $27.94. 666,177 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,282,824. Gentex Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $20.28 and a fifty-two week high of $31.72. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.79 and a beta of 0.85. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $25.53 and a 200 day moving average price of $23.65.

Gentex (NASDAQ:GNTX - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, July 25th. The auto parts company reported $0.47 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.39 by $0.08. The company had revenue of $657.86 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $591.94 million. Gentex had a return on equity of 16.86% and a net margin of 16.82%.Gentex's revenue was up 14.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.37 EPS. Gentex has set its FY 2025 guidance at EPS. Analysts predict that Gentex Corporation will post 2.04 earnings per share for the current year.

Gentex Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 22nd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, October 8th will be issued a $0.12 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, October 8th. This represents a $0.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.7%. Gentex's payout ratio is 27.12%.

Gentex declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback plan on Wednesday, July 16th that allows the company to repurchase 40,000,000 shares. This repurchase authorization allows the auto parts company to repurchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are generally a sign that the company's board believes its stock is undervalued.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

GNTX has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. UBS Group lifted their price objective on Gentex from $23.00 to $28.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, July 28th. Zacks Research raised Gentex from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 20th. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a "neutral" rating on shares of Gentex in a research note on Friday, July 11th. Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on Gentex from $26.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, July 28th. Finally, Industrial Alliance Securities set a $25.00 price target on Gentex in a research note on Friday, July 11th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have issued a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $28.63.

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.