Global Alpha Capital Management Ltd. Lowers Stake in Gentex Corporation $GNTX

Key Points

• Global Alpha Capital Management cut its Gentex stake by 19% in the fourth quarter, selling 165,669 shares and leaving it with 708,431 shares valued at about $16.5 million.
• Gentex reported better-than-expected quarterly results, with EPS of $0.48 versus $0.44 expected and revenue of $675.44 million versus $649.42 million forecast, while revenue rose 17.1% year over year.
• The company also announced a quarterly dividend of $0.12 per share, payable July 22, which implies an annualized yield of about 1.9%.

Global Alpha Capital Management Ltd. decreased its holdings in shares of Gentex Corporation (NASDAQ:GNTX - Free Report) by 19.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 708,431 shares of the auto parts company's stock after selling 165,669 shares during the period. Global Alpha Capital Management Ltd. owned approximately 0.32% of Gentex worth $16,485,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in GNTX. Clearstead Advisors LLC lifted its position in Gentex by 21.4% during the 4th quarter. Clearstead Advisors LLC now owns 2,479 shares of the auto parts company's stock worth $58,000 after acquiring an additional 437 shares during the period. Orion Porfolio Solutions LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Gentex by 4.5% during the second quarter. Orion Porfolio Solutions LLC now owns 13,025 shares of the auto parts company's stock worth $286,000 after purchasing an additional 562 shares during the period. Merit Financial Group LLC grew its position in Gentex by 2.1% in the 4th quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC now owns 30,641 shares of the auto parts company's stock valued at $713,000 after buying an additional 635 shares during the last quarter. Novem Group increased its stake in Gentex by 6.3% in the 4th quarter. Novem Group now owns 11,683 shares of the auto parts company's stock valued at $272,000 after buying an additional 696 shares during the period. Finally, Private Advisor Group LLC increased its stake in Gentex by 7.5% in the 3rd quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 12,357 shares of the auto parts company's stock valued at $350,000 after buying an additional 857 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.76% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at Gentex

In other news, Director Joseph B. Anderson, Jr. sold 5,939 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $22.98, for a total transaction of $136,478.22. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Brian C. Walker sold 5,939 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $22.98, for a total transaction of $136,478.22. Following the sale, the director directly owned 24,205 shares of the company's stock, valued at $556,230.90. The trade was a 19.70% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 16,693 shares of company stock valued at $385,194. 0.55% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently commented on GNTX shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Gentex from $27.00 to $28.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 14th. Weiss Ratings reissued a "hold (c-)" rating on shares of Gentex in a report on Tuesday. B. Riley Financial restated a "buy" rating and issued a $29.00 price objective (up from $28.00) on shares of Gentex in a research report on Monday, April 27th. UBS Group set a $26.00 target price on Gentex in a research report on Sunday, April 26th. Finally, Freedom Capital raised Gentex to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Friday, March 27th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has given a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Gentex has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $26.83.

Gentex Stock Down 1.7%

NASDAQ:GNTX opened at $24.63 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $5.24 billion, a PE ratio of 13.84 and a beta of 0.79. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $22.94 and a 200-day simple moving average of $23.14. Gentex Corporation has a 52-week low of $20.48 and a 52-week high of $29.38.

Gentex (NASDAQ:GNTX - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Friday, April 24th. The auto parts company reported $0.48 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.44 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $675.44 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $649.42 million. Gentex had a net margin of 14.75% and a return on equity of 16.27%. Gentex's revenue for the quarter was up 17.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.42 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Gentex Corporation will post 1.96 earnings per share for the current year.

Gentex Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 22nd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, July 8th will be given a dividend of $0.12 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, July 8th. This represents a $0.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.9%. Gentex's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 26.97%.

About Gentex

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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