Hsbc Holdings PLC Invests $700,000 in Gentex Corporation $GNTX

Key Points

• Hsbc Holdings PLC has made a new investment by purchasing 30,296 shares of Gentex Corporation worth approximately $700,000 in the first quarter.
• Gentex reported better-than-expected earnings, posting $0.47 earnings per share for the quarter, surpassing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.39.
• The company has authorized a share buyback plan for up to 40 million outstanding shares, indicating confidence in its stock valuation.

Hsbc Holdings PLC acquired a new stake in shares of Gentex Corporation (NASDAQ:GNTX - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 30,296 shares of the auto parts company's stock, valued at approximately $700,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of GNTX. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. grew its stake in shares of Gentex by 85.4% in the first quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 1,222 shares of the auto parts company's stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 563 shares during the period. State of Michigan Retirement System boosted its holdings in Gentex by 1.1% in the first quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System now owns 54,440 shares of the auto parts company's stock worth $1,268,000 after purchasing an additional 600 shares during the last quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System grew its position in Gentex by 1.0% in the 1st quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System now owns 63,700 shares of the auto parts company's stock worth $1,484,000 after purchasing an additional 600 shares during the period. ProShare Advisors LLC raised its stake in Gentex by 6.0% during the 4th quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 10,641 shares of the auto parts company's stock valued at $306,000 after buying an additional 605 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Values First Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Gentex by 1.3% in the 1st quarter. Values First Advisors Inc. now owns 51,873 shares of the auto parts company's stock worth $1,209,000 after buying an additional 676 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.76% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

GNTX has been the subject of a number of research reports. UBS Group upped their price objective on Gentex from $23.00 to $28.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, July 28th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Gentex from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, July 26th. Industrial Alliance Securities set a $25.00 price objective on shares of Gentex in a research report on Friday, July 11th. B. Riley lifted their target price on Gentex from $28.00 to $32.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, July 28th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded Gentex from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 20th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have given a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $28.63.

Gentex Trading Up 0.9%

Shares of GNTX stock traded up $0.25 on Thursday, reaching $27.92. The company's stock had a trading volume of 623,640 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,282,608. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $25.53 and its 200-day simple moving average is $23.65. Gentex Corporation has a 1 year low of $20.28 and a 1 year high of $31.72. The company has a market capitalization of $6.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.78 and a beta of 0.85.

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

Gentex Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 22nd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, October 8th will be given a dividend of $0.12 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, October 8th. This represents a $0.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.7%. Gentex's dividend payout ratio is 27.12%.

Gentex declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback program on Wednesday, July 16th that authorizes the company to repurchase 40,000,000 shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the auto parts company to reacquire shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are generally an indication that the company's board believes its shares are undervalued.

Gentex Company Profile

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.