Gentex Corporation $GNTX Shares Bought by Sprucegrove Investment Management Ltd.

Key Points

• Sprucegrove Investment Management Ltd. increased its holdings in Gentex Corporation by 21.2% in Q1, now owning 592,360 shares worth approximately $13.80 million.
• Gentex Corporation's stock received positive attention from several analysts, with price targets raised by firms including UBS Group and Robert W. Baird up to $32.00.
• The company reported a strong quarterly earnings result with an EPS of $0.47, exceeding expectations and showing a 14.8% revenue increase year-over-year.

Sprucegrove Investment Management Ltd. boosted its holdings in Gentex Corporation (NASDAQ:GNTX - Free Report) by 21.2% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 592,360 shares of the auto parts company's stock after purchasing an additional 103,498 shares during the quarter. Gentex comprises 1.2% of Sprucegrove Investment Management Ltd.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 21st largest holding. Sprucegrove Investment Management Ltd. owned 0.26% of Gentex worth $13,802,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Larson Financial Group LLC raised its position in Gentex by 1,471.0% in the 1st quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 1,084 shares of the auto parts company's stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 1,015 shares during the last quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. raised its position in 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 valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 563 shares during the last quarter. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC raised its position in Gentex by 208.2% during the 1st quarter. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC now owns 1,618 shares of the auto parts company's stock worth $38,000 after buying an additional 1,093 shares during the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. raised its position in Gentex by 103.3% during the 1st quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 2,124 shares of the auto parts company's stock worth $49,000 after buying an additional 1,079 shares during the last quarter. Finally, NBC Securities Inc. raised its position in Gentex by 268,600.0% during the 1st quarter. NBC Securities Inc. now owns 2,687 shares of the auto parts company's stock worth $62,000 after buying an additional 2,686 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.76% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

GNTX has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Industrial Alliance Securities set a $25.00 price objective on shares of Gentex in a research report on Friday, July 11th. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a "neutral" rating on shares of Gentex in a research report on Friday, July 11th. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Gentex from $23.00 to $28.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, July 28th. Guggenheim cut their price objective on shares of Gentex from $30.00 to $24.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Finally, B. Riley upped their price objective on shares of Gentex from $28.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, July 28th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Gentex currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $28.63.

Gentex Stock Performance

NASDAQ GNTX traded down $0.2950 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $27.3950. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,140,097 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,310,695. The stock has a market cap of $6.01 billion, a PE ratio of 15.48 and a beta of 0.82. Gentex Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $20.28 and a fifty-two week high of $31.75. The company's 50-day moving average is $24.16 and its two-hundred day moving average is $23.41.

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

Gentex announced that its board has initiated a stock buyback program on Wednesday, July 16th that permits the company to buyback 40,000,000 outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the auto parts company to purchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often a sign that the company's board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Gentex Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 23rd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, July 9th were paid a dividend of $0.12 per share. This represents a $0.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, July 9th. Gentex's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 27.12%.

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.