Inspire Investing LLC Cuts Stock Position in Gentex Corporation $GNTX

Key Points

• Inspire Investing LLC reduced its stake in Gentex Corporation by 49.6%, selling 27,630 shares, and now holds 28,025 shares worth approximately $653,000.
• Gentex reported earnings of $0.47 per share for the latest quarter, exceeding estimates, with revenues of $657.86 million, up 14.8% year-over-year.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.12 per share and authorized a stock buyback plan for up to 40 million shares, indicating a belief that its shares are undervalued.

Inspire Investing LLC cut its stake in Gentex Corporation (NASDAQ:GNTX - Free Report) by 49.6% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 28,025 shares of the auto parts company's stock after selling 27,630 shares during the quarter. Inspire Investing LLC's holdings in Gentex were worth $653,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in GNTX. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Gentex by 487.7% in the first quarter. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. now owns 3,447,651 shares of the auto parts company's stock valued at $80,330,000 after purchasing an additional 2,860,969 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC grew its position in Gentex by 142.3% during the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 4,589,585 shares of the auto parts company's stock worth $106,937,000 after buying an additional 2,695,117 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. grew its position in Gentex by 148.5% during the first quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 4,119,232 shares of the auto parts company's stock worth $95,978,000 after buying an additional 2,461,835 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its position in Gentex by 46.2% during the first quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 7,673,701 shares of the auto parts company's stock worth $178,797,000 after buying an additional 2,424,471 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Burgundy Asset Management Ltd. grew its position in Gentex by 40.1% during the first quarter. Burgundy Asset Management Ltd. now owns 7,728,209 shares of the auto parts company's stock worth $180,067,000 after buying an additional 2,211,392 shares in the last quarter. 86.76% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Gentex Trading Down 0.2%

Shares of GNTX stock traded down $0.07 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $29.00. 372,177 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,255,651. The firm has a market cap of $6.36 billion, a PE ratio of 16.38 and a beta of 0.85. The company's 50 day moving average is $26.68 and its two-hundred day moving average is $23.92. Gentex Corporation has a 1 year low of $20.28 and a 1 year high of $31.72.

Gentex (NASDAQ:GNTX - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, July 25th. The auto parts company reported $0.47 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.39 by $0.08. The company had revenue of $657.86 million for 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%.The firm's quarterly revenue was up 14.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.37 EPS. Gentex has set its FY 2025 guidance at EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that Gentex Corporation will post 2.04 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Gentex announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback program on Wednesday, July 16th that allows the company to repurchase 40,000,000 shares. This repurchase authorization allows the auto parts company to buy shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are often a sign that the company's board believes its stock is undervalued.

Gentex Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 22nd. Investors 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 yield of 1.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, October 8th. Gentex's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 27.12%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on GNTX shares. UBS Group lifted their price target on Gentex from $23.00 to $28.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, July 28th. B. Riley lifted their price target on Gentex from $28.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, July 28th. Robert W. Baird lifted 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. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a "neutral" rating on shares of Gentex in a research note on Friday, July 11th. Finally, Zacks Research raised Gentex from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 20th. 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's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Gentex has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus 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.