Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. Has $80.33 Million Stock Position in Gentex Corporation $GNTX

Key Points

• Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in Gentex Corporation by 487.7% during the first quarter, now holding 3,447,651 shares valued at approximately $80.33 million.
• Analysts have mixed views on Gentex's stock, with a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $28.63, while Guggenheim recently lowered its price target from $30.00 to $24.00.
• The company also announced a quarterly dividend of $0.12 per share and a stock buyback program authorized for up to 40 million shares, indicating management's belief that the stock is undervalued.

Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in Gentex Corporation (NASDAQ:GNTX - Free Report) by 487.7% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,447,651 shares of the auto parts company's stock after purchasing an additional 2,860,969 shares during the period. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. owned approximately 1.53% of Gentex worth $80,330,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Larson Financial Group LLC boosted its stake in Gentex by 1,471.0% in the 1st quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 1,084 shares of the auto parts company's stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 1,015 shares during the period. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. boosted its stake in Gentex by 85.4% in the 1st quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 1,222 shares of the auto parts company's stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 563 shares during the period. Brooklyn Investment Group boosted its stake in Gentex by 305.7% in the 1st quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 1,217 shares of the auto parts company's stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 917 shares during the period. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC lifted its position in Gentex by 208.2% during the 1st quarter. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC now owns 1,618 shares of the auto parts company's stock worth $38,000 after buying an additional 1,093 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UMB Bank n.a. lifted its position in Gentex by 103.3% during the 1st quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 2,124 shares of the auto parts company's stock worth $49,000 after buying an additional 1,079 shares in the last quarter. 86.76% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Gentex Stock Up 2.7%

Shares of GNTX stock traded up $0.75 on Friday, reaching $28.16. The stock had a trading volume of 1,670,695 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,153,923. The firm's 50-day moving average is $24.49 and its two-hundred day moving average is $23.45. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.91 and a beta of 0.82. Gentex Corporation has a 12 month low of $20.28 and a 12 month high of $31.75.

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

Gentex Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 22nd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, October 8th will be issued a $0.12 dividend. This represents a $0.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.7%. Gentex's payout ratio is 27.12%.

Gentex announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback plan on Wednesday, July 16th that permits the company to repurchase 40,000,000 outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the auto parts company to purchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company's board believes its shares are undervalued.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have commented on GNTX shares. Industrial Alliance Securities set a $25.00 price target on shares of Gentex in a research report on Friday, July 11th. B. Riley boosted their price target on shares of Gentex from $28.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, July 28th. UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of Gentex from $23.00 to $28.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, July 28th. Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on shares of Gentex from $26.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, July 28th. Finally, Zacks Research raised shares of Gentex from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have given a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $28.63.

About Gentex

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.