Thematics Asset Management Lowers Stake in Gentex Corporation $GNTX

Key Points

• Thematics Asset Management reduced its stake in Gentex Corporation by 10%, owning 406,120 shares valued at approximately $9.46 million as of its latest SEC filing.
• Several analysts have recently upgraded Gentex's stock ratings, with UBS raising its price objective from $23.00 to $28.00, now indicating a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $28.63.
• Gentex announced a quarterly dividend of $0.12 per share, with a 1.7% yield, and authorized a buyback program for up to 40 million shares, signaling confidence in the stock's value.

Thematics Asset Management cut its stake in shares of Gentex Corporation (NASDAQ:GNTX - Free Report) by 10.0% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 406,120 shares of the auto parts company's stock after selling 44,880 shares during the period. Thematics Asset Management owned about 0.18% of Gentex worth $9,463,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of GNTX. Barclays PLC raised its holdings in Gentex by 66.5% during the fourth quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 179,659 shares of the auto parts company's stock valued at $5,162,000 after acquiring an additional 71,729 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holdings in shares of Gentex by 4.5% in the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 4,495,516 shares of the auto parts company's stock worth $129,156,000 after purchasing an additional 192,375 shares during the last quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Gentex by 7.8% in the fourth quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 128,273 shares of the auto parts company's stock worth $3,685,000 after purchasing an additional 9,267 shares during the last quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC increased its holdings in shares of Gentex by 10.0% in the fourth quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 14,608 shares of the auto parts company's stock worth $420,000 after purchasing an additional 1,328 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Stifel Financial Corp grew its position in Gentex by 34.3% in the fourth quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 135,517 shares of the auto parts company's stock worth $3,894,000 after acquiring an additional 34,601 shares in the last quarter. 86.76% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Gentex Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ GNTX traded down $0.28 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $28.15. The stock had a trading volume of 1,484,108 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,305,570. The company has a 50 day moving average of $24.89 and a two-hundred day moving average of $23.53. The firm has a market cap of $6.18 billion, a PE ratio of 15.90 and a beta of 0.82. Gentex Corporation has a twelve month low of $20.28 and a twelve month high of $31.72.

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

Gentex announced that its board has initiated a stock repurchase 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 generally an indication that the company's leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Gentex Announces Dividend

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have issued reports on GNTX. Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on Gentex from $26.00 to $30.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, July 28th. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a "neutral" rating on shares of Gentex in a research report on Friday, July 11th. Zacks Research upgraded Gentex from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 20th. Industrial Alliance Securities set a $25.00 target price on Gentex in a research report on Friday, July 11th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded Gentex from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, July 26th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have issued a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Gentex presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $28.63.

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.