UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC Buys 2,695,117 Shares of Gentex Corporation $GNTX

Key Points

• UBS Asset Management significantly increased its stake in Gentex Corporation by 142.3%, owning over 4.5 million shares valued at approximately $107 million.
• Gentex recently reported quarterly earnings of $0.47 per share, exceeding analyst expectations, with revenues of nearly $658 million, a 14.8% increase year-over-year.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.12 per share and has initiated a share buyback program for up to 40 million shares, indicating confidence in its current valuation.

UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC raised its stake in shares of Gentex Corporation (NASDAQ:GNTX - Free Report) by 142.3% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 4,589,585 shares of the auto parts company's stock after purchasing an additional 2,695,117 shares during the period. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC owned 2.04% of Gentex worth $106,937,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Empowered Funds LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Gentex by 255.6% during the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 81,142 shares of the auto parts company's stock valued at $1,891,000 after acquiring an additional 58,323 shares during the period. Caxton Associates LLP acquired a new stake in Gentex in the first quarter worth about $4,310,000. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Gentex by 1.8% during the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 1,321,634 shares of the auto parts company's stock worth $30,794,000 after buying an additional 23,454 shares during the last quarter. PharVision Advisers LLC bought a new position in Gentex during the first quarter worth about $268,000. Finally, Invenomic Capital Management LP boosted its holdings in Gentex by 93.1% during the first quarter. Invenomic Capital Management LP now owns 244,966 shares of the auto parts company's stock worth $5,708,000 after buying an additional 118,124 shares during the last quarter. 86.76% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

GNTX has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Zacks Research upgraded Gentex from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 20th. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a "neutral" rating on shares of Gentex in a report on Friday, July 11th. Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on Gentex from $26.00 to $30.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, July 28th. B. Riley boosted their price target on Gentex from $28.00 to $32.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, July 28th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised Gentex from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday, July 26th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have assigned a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $28.63.

Gentex Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ GNTX traded down $0.01 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $29.05. 394,624 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,255,796. Gentex Corporation has a one year low of $20.28 and a one year high of $31.72. The company has a market cap of $6.38 billion, a PE ratio of 16.42 and a beta of 0.85. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $26.68 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $23.92.

Gentex (NASDAQ:GNTX - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, July 25th. The auto parts company reported $0.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.39 by $0.08. The firm had revenue of $657.86 million during 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 business's revenue for the quarter was up 14.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.37 EPS. Gentex has set its FY 2025 guidance at EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Gentex Corporation will post 2.04 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Gentex Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 22nd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, October 8th will be paid a $0.12 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, October 8th. This represents a $0.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.7%. Gentex's dividend payout ratio is currently 27.12%.

Gentex announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase program on Wednesday, July 16th that allows the company to repurchase 40,000,000 shares. This repurchase authorization allows the auto parts company to buy shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are usually a sign that the company's leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

About Gentex

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.