Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC Invests $12.10 Million in Gentex Corporation $GNTX

Key Points

• Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC acquired 519,424 shares of Gentex Corporation (NASDAQ:GNTX) in the first quarter, valuing the investment at approximately $12.1 million.
• The company's quarterly earnings exceeded expectations, with a reported $0.47 EPS against a consensus estimate of $0.39, and revenue of $657.86 million compared to an expected $591.94 million.
• Gentex announced a quarterly dividend of $0.12 per share, set to be paid on October 22nd, which reflects an annualized yield of 1.7%.

Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Gentex Corporation (NASDAQ:GNTX - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 519,424 shares of the auto parts company's stock, valued at approximately $12,103,000. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC owned 0.23% of Gentex as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of GNTX. Larson Financial Group LLC grew its position in shares of Gentex by 1,471.0% during the 1st quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 1,084 shares of the auto parts company's stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 1,015 shares during the period. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of 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 in the last quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group lifted its holdings in shares of 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 in the last quarter. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Gentex by 208.2% in the 1st quarter. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC now owns 1,618 shares of the auto parts company's stock worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 1,093 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UMB Bank n.a. lifted its holdings in shares of Gentex by 103.3% in the 1st quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 2,124 shares of the auto parts company's stock worth $49,000 after purchasing an additional 1,079 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.76% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

GNTX has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. B. Riley increased their target price on Gentex from $28.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, July 28th. UBS Group increased their target price on Gentex from $23.00 to $28.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, July 28th. Zacks Research upgraded Gentex from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 20th. Industrial Alliance Securities set a $25.00 price objective on Gentex in a research note on Friday, July 11th. Finally, Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on Gentex from $26.00 to $30.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, July 28th. One research 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.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $28.63.

Gentex Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ GNTX traded down $0.28 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $28.15. 1,442,075 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,305,314. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.90 and a beta of 0.82. Gentex Corporation has a 52 week low of $20.28 and a 52 week high of $31.72. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $24.89 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $23.53.

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

Gentex announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock repurchase program on Wednesday, July 16th that permits the company to repurchase 40,000,000 shares. This repurchase authorization permits the auto parts company to reacquire shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are often an indication that the company's board believes its stock is undervalued.

Gentex Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, October 8th. This represents a $0.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.7%. Gentex's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 27.12%.

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.