Gentex Corporation (NASDAQ:GNTX) Short Interest Up 19.1% in March

Key Points

• Short interest rose 19.1% in March to 10,341,203 shares (about 4.8% of shares short), giving a short-interest ratio of roughly 4.7 days based on average daily volume.
• Analyst sentiment is mixed with an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $26.57; recent notes include upgrades from Wall Street Zen and Freedom Capital and a target cut from B. Riley.
• Insiders sold roughly 58,133 shares (~$1.44M) last quarter (insiders now own 0.45%), and Gentex declared a quarterly dividend of $0.12 (annualized $0.48, ~2.1% yield).

Gentex Corporation (NASDAQ:GNTX - Get Free Report) was the recipient of a large increase in short interest during the month of March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totaling 10,341,203 shares, an increase of 19.1% from the March 15th total of 8,684,416 shares. Currently, 4.8% of the shares of the company are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 2,186,312 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 4.7 days.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

GNTX has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. B. Riley Financial cut their target price on shares of Gentex from $32.00 to $28.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, February 2nd. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Gentex from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Sunday, March 8th. Freedom Capital raised shares of Gentex to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Friday, March 27th. UBS Group reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and set a $24.00 price objective (down from $25.00) on shares of Gentex in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, Robert W. Baird set a $26.00 price objective on shares of Gentex in a research report on Wednesday, January 14th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have given a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $26.57.

Gentex Stock Performance

Shares of GNTX traded up $0.81 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $22.63. 1,972,997 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,865,490. The stock's fifty day moving average is $22.48 and its 200 day moving average is $23.53. The stock has a market cap of $4.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.01 and a beta of 0.77. Gentex has a 1-year low of $20.48 and a 1-year high of $29.38.

Gentex (NASDAQ:GNTX - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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. The business had revenue of $644.40 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $650.90 million. Gentex had a net margin of 15.19% and a return on equity of 16.05%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 19.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.39 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts predict that Gentex will post 2.04 EPS for the current year.

Gentex Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 22nd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 8th will be given a dividend of $0.12 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 8th. This represents a $0.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.1%. Gentex's dividend payout ratio is currently 27.59%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Gentex news, CFO Kevin C. Nash sold 11,885 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 17th. The shares were 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 legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Steven R. Downing sold 35,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $24.75, for a total transaction of $866,250.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 211,670 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,238,832.50. This represents a 14.19% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 58,133 shares of company stock valued at $1,442,313 in the last quarter. Insiders own 0.45% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Hudson Bay Capital Management LP acquired a new position in Gentex in the third quarter worth about $3,613,000. WINTON GROUP Ltd acquired a new position in Gentex in the third quarter worth about $7,258,000. Nordea Investment Management AB acquired a new position in Gentex in the third quarter worth about $6,422,000. Elo Mutual Pension Insurance Co acquired a new position in Gentex in the third quarter worth about $726,000. Finally, Clark Capital Management Group Inc. acquired a new position in Gentex in the third quarter worth about $8,179,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.76% of the company's stock.

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).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.