Gentex Corporation (NASDAQ:GNTX) Receives Consensus Recommendation of "Hold" from Brokerages

Key Points

• Gentex has a consensus analyst rating of “Hold” from eight brokerages, with an average 1-year price target of about $26.83.
• The company reported better-than-expected quarterly results, posting EPS of $0.48 versus estimates of $0.44 and revenue of $675.44 million, up 17.1% year over year.
• Gentex also announced a quarterly dividend of $0.12 per share, payable July 22, while insiders have recently sold shares and institutional ownership remains high at 86.76%.

Shares of Gentex Corporation (NASDAQ:GNTX - Get Free Report) have earned an average rating of "Hold" from the eight research firms that are covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average 1-year price objective among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $26.8333.

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on GNTX shares. Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on Gentex from $25.00 to $26.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, April 27th. Wall Street Zen lowered Gentex from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday. Weiss Ratings restated a "hold (c-)" rating on shares of Gentex in a research report on Tuesday, June 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Gentex from $27.00 to $28.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 14th. Finally, Freedom Capital upgraded Gentex to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Friday, March 27th.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Joseph B. Anderson, Jr. sold 5,939 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $22.98, for a total transaction of $136,478.22. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Brian C. Walker sold 5,939 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $22.98, for a total value of $136,478.22. Following the sale, the director owned 24,205 shares in the company, valued at $556,230.90. This trade represents a 19.70% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 16,693 shares of company stock worth $385,194 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.55% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Gentex

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its position in shares of Gentex by 10.3% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 14,828,120 shares of the auto parts company's stock valued at $419,636,000 after acquiring an additional 1,383,203 shares during the period. Bank of Montreal Can boosted its holdings in Gentex by 14,398.7% in the 4th quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 7,726,057 shares of the auto parts company's stock worth $179,785,000 after buying an additional 7,672,769 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its holdings in Gentex by 12.6% in the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 7,463,299 shares of the auto parts company's stock worth $163,067,000 after buying an additional 833,919 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in Gentex by 1.0% in the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 7,439,333 shares of the auto parts company's stock worth $163,591,000 after buying an additional 74,779 shares during the last quarter. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. boosted its holdings in Gentex by 2.0% in the 3rd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 6,742,293 shares of the auto parts company's stock worth $190,807,000 after buying an additional 131,035 shares during the last quarter. 86.76% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Gentex Stock Performance

NASDAQ GNTX opened at $25.86 on Monday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $23.28 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $23.25. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.53 and a beta of 0.79. Gentex has a fifty-two week low of $20.48 and a fifty-two week high of $29.38.

Gentex (NASDAQ:GNTX - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, April 24th. The auto parts company reported $0.48 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.44 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $675.44 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $649.42 million. Gentex had a return on equity of 16.27% and a net margin of 14.75%.The company's revenue was up 17.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.42 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that Gentex will post 1.96 earnings per share for the current year.

Gentex Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 22nd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, July 8th will be given a dividend of $0.12 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, July 8th. This represents a $0.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.9%. Gentex's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 26.97%.

About Gentex

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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