SG Americas Securities LLC Buys 92,811 Shares of Gentex Corporation $GNTX

Key Points

• SG Americas Securities LLC boosted its stake by 257.6% in Q4, buying 92,811 additional shares to hold 128,847 shares of Gentex (about 0.06% of the company) valued at roughly $2.998 million.
• Insider selling has been notable: CFO Kevin Nash sold 11,885 shares and CEO Steven Downing sold 35,000 shares (insiders sold 58,133 shares worth ~$1.44M over three months), leaving insiders with about 0.45% ownership.
• Mixed fundamentals and analyst stance: Gentex beat Q4 EPS ($0.44 vs. $0.43) but missed revenue expectations, has a consensus "Hold" rating with a $26.71 target amid some upgrades, and declared a $0.12 quarterly dividend (2.2% yield).

SG Americas Securities LLC lifted its stake in shares of Gentex Corporation (NASDAQ:GNTX - Free Report) by 257.6% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 128,847 shares of the auto parts company's stock after buying an additional 92,811 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC owned about 0.06% of Gentex worth $2,998,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of GNTX. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of Gentex in the third quarter valued at about $38,000. Clearstead Advisors LLC grew its position in Gentex by 82.3% in the 3rd quarter. Clearstead Advisors LLC now owns 2,042 shares of the auto parts company's stock worth $58,000 after purchasing an additional 922 shares in the last quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC increased its stake in Gentex by 2,420.7% in the 3rd quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 2,067 shares of the auto parts company's stock valued at $58,000 after buying an additional 1,985 shares during the last quarter. Grey Fox Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Gentex during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $65,000. Finally, Steph & Co. boosted its stake in shares of Gentex by 30.5% in the 3rd quarter. Steph & Co. now owns 2,684 shares of the auto parts company's stock worth $76,000 after buying an additional 627 shares during the last quarter. 86.76% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

GNTX has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Wall Street Zen raised Gentex from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Sunday, March 8th. UBS Group set a $25.00 target price on Gentex in a research note on Monday, February 2nd. Robert W. Baird set a $26.00 price target on shares of Gentex in a report on Wednesday, January 14th. Freedom Capital upgraded shares of Gentex to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Friday, March 27th. Finally, B. Riley Financial lowered their price objective on shares of Gentex from $32.00 to $28.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 2nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have issued a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $26.71.

Insider Activity

In other Gentex news, CFO Kevin C. Nash sold 11,885 shares of Gentex stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $24.98, for a total transaction of $296,887.30. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 59,430 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,484,561.40. The trade was a 16.67% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Steven R. Downing sold 35,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $24.75, for a total value of $866,250.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 211,670 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,238,832.50. This represents a 14.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last three months, insiders sold 58,133 shares of company stock worth $1,442,313. 0.45% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Gentex Stock Performance

Shares of GNTX opened at $21.51 on Friday. Gentex Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $20.28 and a fifty-two week high of $29.38. The business has a 50-day moving average of $22.87 and a 200 day moving average of $23.99. The firm has a market cap of $4.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.36 and a beta of 0.77.

Gentex (NASDAQ:GNTX - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 30th. The auto parts company reported $0.44 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.43 by $0.01. Gentex had a net margin of 15.19% and a return on equity of 16.05%. The company had revenue of $644.40 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $650.90 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.39 EPS. Gentex's revenue was up 19.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts predict that Gentex Corporation will post 2.04 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Gentex Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 22nd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 8th will be issued a $0.12 dividend. This represents a $0.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 8th. Gentex's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 27.59%.

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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