Louisiana State Employees Retirement System Buys New Stake in Gentex Corporation $GNTX

Key Points

• Louisiana State Employees Retirement System opened a new position in Gentex during the first quarter, buying 63,500 shares worth about $1.39 million.
• Gentex reported better-than-expected Q1 earnings, with EPS of $0.48 versus $0.44 expected and revenue of $675.44 million, up 17.1% year over year.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.12 per share, implying an annualized yield of about 2.0%; analysts currently have a consensus Hold rating with a $26.83 price target.

Louisiana State Employees Retirement System purchased a new stake in Gentex Corporation (NASDAQ:GNTX - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund purchased 63,500 shares of the auto parts company's stock, valued at approximately $1,387,000.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its holdings in shares of Gentex by 10.3% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 14,828,120 shares of the auto parts company's stock worth $419,636,000 after purchasing an additional 1,383,203 shares during the last quarter. Bank of Montreal Can boosted its stake in Gentex by 14,398.7% during the fourth quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 7,726,057 shares of the auto parts company's stock valued at $179,785,000 after buying an additional 7,672,769 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its holdings in shares of Gentex by 1.0% in the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 7,439,333 shares of the auto parts company's stock valued at $163,591,000 after purchasing an additional 74,779 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holdings in shares of Gentex by 25.6% in the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 6,629,380 shares of the auto parts company's stock worth $154,271,000 after buying an additional 1,349,445 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Boston Partners raised its position in Gentex by 2.1% during the third quarter. Boston Partners now owns 5,912,491 shares of the auto parts company's stock valued at $167,299,000 after purchasing an additional 123,731 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.76% of the company's stock.

Gentex Price Performance

GNTX stock opened at $24.51 on Friday. Gentex Corporation has a 12 month low of $20.48 and a 12 month high of $29.38. The firm's 50-day moving average is $24.23 and its 200 day moving average is $23.47. The company has a market capitalization of $5.22 billion, a PE ratio of 13.77 and a beta of 0.78.

Gentex (NASDAQ:GNTX - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Friday, April 24th. The auto parts company reported $0.48 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.44 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $675.44 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $649.42 million. Gentex had a net margin of 14.75% and a return on equity of 16.27%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 17.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.42 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that Gentex Corporation will post 1.97 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Gentex Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 22nd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, July 8th will be issued a dividend of $0.12 per share. This represents a $0.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.0%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, July 8th. Gentex's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 26.97%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

GNTX has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. B. Riley Financial reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $29.00 price target (up from $28.00) on shares of Gentex in a research note on Monday, April 27th. Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on shares of Gentex from $25.00 to $26.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, April 27th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Gentex from a "hold (c-)" rating to a "hold (c)" rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 23rd. Wall Street Zen downgraded Gentex from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, June 13th. Finally, UBS Group set a $26.00 price target on Gentex in a research note on Sunday, April 26th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has assigned a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $26.83.

Insider Buying and Selling at Gentex

In other news, Director Richard O. Schaum sold 4,815 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $23.31, for a total transaction of $112,237.65. Following the transaction, the director owned 81,443 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,898,436.33. This represents a 5.58% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Brian C. Walker sold 5,939 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $22.98, for a total value of $136,478.22. Following the transaction, the director owned 24,205 shares in the company, valued at approximately $556,230.90. This represents a 19.70% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 16,693 shares of company stock valued at $385,194 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.55% of the company's stock.

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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