Gentex (NASDAQ:GNTX) Stock Rating Upgraded by Wall Street Zen

Key Points

• Gentex stock has been upgraded from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating by Wall Street Zen, highlighting a positive shift in analyst sentiment.
• Guggenheim has decreased its price target for Gentex from $30.00 to $24.00, while other analysts maintain varying ratings from "neutral" to "buy" with a consensus target price of $28.28.
• The company recently announced a share buyback plan allowing repurchase of up to 40 million shares, indicating a belief among leadership that the stock is undervalued.

Gentex (NASDAQ:GNTX - Get Free Report) was upgraded by stock analysts at Wall Street Zen from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note issued on Saturday.

GNTX has been the subject of several other reports. Guggenheim dropped their target price 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. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a "neutral" rating on shares of Gentex in a research report on Friday, July 11th. UBS Group reissued a "neutral" rating and set a $23.00 price target (up from $21.00) on shares of Gentex in a research note on Monday, July 14th. Baird R W lowered shares of Gentex from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. Finally, Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on shares of Gentex from $25.00 to $26.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, July 11th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Gentex currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $28.28.

Gentex Price Performance

Shares of Gentex stock opened at $27.42 on Friday. Gentex has a 1 year low of $20.28 and a 1 year high of $31.75. The firm has a market cap of $6.16 billion, a PE ratio of 16.04 and a beta of 0.81. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $22.37 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $23.51.

Gentex (NASDAQ:GNTX - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Friday, July 25th. The auto parts company reported $0.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.39 by $0.08. Gentex had a net margin of 17.01% and a return on equity of 16.11%. The business had revenue of $657.86 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $591.94 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.37 earnings per share. Gentex's revenue for the quarter was up 14.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Gentex will post 2.04 earnings per share for the current year.

Gentex announced that its board has approved a share buyback plan on Wednesday, July 16th that permits the company to buyback 40,000,000 shares. This buyback authorization permits the auto parts company to repurchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are often a sign that the company's leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Joseph B. Anderson, Jr. sold 3,764 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, May 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $22.87, for a total transaction of $86,082.68. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 5,939 shares in the company, valued at $135,824.93. This represents a 38.79% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 0.45% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Gentex

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in Gentex by 4.1% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 22,581,938 shares of the auto parts company's stock valued at $526,159,000 after purchasing an additional 886,785 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its position in Gentex by 6.1% during the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 18,023,056 shares of the auto parts company's stock valued at $517,802,000 after purchasing an additional 1,038,912 shares during the period. Burgundy Asset Management Ltd. increased its position in Gentex by 40.1% during the 1st quarter. Burgundy Asset Management Ltd. now owns 7,728,209 shares of the auto parts company's stock valued at $180,067,000 after purchasing an additional 2,211,392 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its position in Gentex by 46.2% during the 1st quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 7,673,701 shares of the auto parts company's stock valued at $178,797,000 after purchasing an additional 2,424,471 shares during the period. Finally, Ariel Investments LLC increased its position in Gentex by 10.7% during the 1st quarter. Ariel Investments LLC now owns 7,082,055 shares of the auto parts company's stock valued at $165,012,000 after purchasing an additional 687,329 shares during the period. 86.76% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.

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