Gentex Corporation $GNTX Shares Purchased by HighTower Advisors LLC

Key Points

• HighTower Advisors increased its Gentex position by 65.2% in the second quarter, bringing its holdings to 226,238 shares valued at approximately $5.7 million. Institutional investors collectively own 86.76% of the company.
• Analyst sentiment remains cautious, with one Buy rating and seven Holds; Gentex has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $26.80.
• Gentex beat quarterly EPS expectations, reporting $0.58 versus the $0.50 consensus, although revenue declined 1% year over year. The company also declared a quarterly dividend of $0.12 per share, representing a 2.1% annualized yield.

HighTower Advisors LLC raised its position in Gentex Corporation (NASDAQ:GNTX - Free Report) by 65.2% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 226,238 shares of the auto parts company's stock after purchasing an additional 89,288 shares during the quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC owned about 0.11% of Gentex worth $5,717,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in GNTX. Clearstead Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Gentex by 21.4% during the 4th quarter. Clearstead Advisors LLC now owns 2,479 shares of the auto parts company's stock valued at $58,000 after buying an additional 437 shares during the period. Gagnon Securities LLC grew its position in Gentex by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. Gagnon Securities LLC now owns 55,672 shares of the auto parts company's stock worth $1,295,000 after acquiring an additional 458 shares during the period. Crumly & Associates Inc. increased its stake in Gentex by 3.7% during the second quarter. Crumly & Associates Inc. now owns 13,291 shares of the auto parts company's stock worth $336,000 after acquiring an additional 478 shares during the last quarter. First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. increased its stake in Gentex by 1.6% during the first quarter. First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. now owns 30,294 shares of the auto parts company's stock worth $662,000 after acquiring an additional 487 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sei Investments Co. raised its position in Gentex by 0.3% in the first quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 196,776 shares of the auto parts company's stock valued at $4,300,000 after purchasing an additional 521 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.76% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the company. Weiss Ratings raised Gentex from a "hold (c-)" rating to a "hold (c)" rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on Gentex from $28.00 to $27.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, August 10th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Gentex from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Sunday, July 12th. UBS Group reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and set a $25.00 target price (down from $26.00) on shares of Gentex in a research note on Thursday, July 9th. Finally, Freedom Capital cut shares of Gentex from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 29th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $26.80.

Gentex Stock Up 0.1%

GNTX opened at $22.68 on Friday. Gentex Corporation has a 52 week low of $20.48 and a 52 week high of $29.38. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $23.60 and a 200-day simple moving average of $23.36. The firm has a market cap of $4.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.00 and a beta of 0.80.

Gentex (NASDAQ:GNTX - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, July 24th. The auto parts company reported $0.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.50 by $0.08. Gentex had a return on equity of 16.78% and a net margin of 15.50%.The firm had revenue of $651.30 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $669.65 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.43 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was down 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts expect that Gentex Corporation will post 2.07 earnings per share for the current year.

Gentex Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 21st. Investors of record on Wednesday, October 7th will be paid a dividend of $0.12 per share. This represents a $0.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, October 7th. Gentex's dividend payout ratio is presently 25.40%.

Gentex Profile

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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