Robert W. Baird Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Gentex (NASDAQ:GNTX) Stock

Key Points

• Robert W. Baird raised its price target for Gentex (NASDAQ:GNTX) stock from $26.00 to $30.00, suggesting a potential upside of 8.69% based on the previous close.
• Gentex reported strong earnings, with $0.47 EPS for the last quarter, exceeding expectations of $0.39 and reflecting a 14.8% increase in revenue compared to the same quarter the previous year.
• The company's Board of Directors approved a share buyback plan allowing the repurchase of up to 40 million outstanding shares, indicating confidence in the stock's value.

Gentex (NASDAQ:GNTX - Get Free Report) had its price target lifted by research analysts at Robert W. Baird from $26.00 to $30.00 in a research note issued to investors on Monday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a "neutral" rating on the auto parts company's stock. Robert W. Baird's target price would suggest a potential upside of 8.69% from the company's previous close.

Several other research firms have also weighed in on GNTX. Guggenheim decreased their target price on shares of Gentex from $30.00 to $24.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Gentex from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday. UBS Group restated a "neutral" rating and issued a $23.00 price objective (up from $21.00) on shares of Gentex in a report on Monday, July 14th. Industrial Alliance Securities set a $25.00 price objective on shares of Gentex in a report on Friday, July 11th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group restated a "neutral" rating on shares of Gentex in a report on Friday, July 11th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Gentex presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $28.72.

Gentex Price Performance

NASDAQ GNTX traded up $0.18 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $27.60. 820,942 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,318,382. Gentex has a 52-week low of $20.28 and a 52-week high of $31.75. The company has a market capitalization of $6.20 billion, a PE ratio of 15.58 and a beta of 0.81. The firm's 50-day moving average is $22.37 and its 200-day moving average is $23.46.

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 the consensus estimate of $0.39 by $0.08. The company had revenue of $657.86 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $591.94 million. Gentex had a net margin of 16.82% and a return on equity of 16.86%. Gentex's revenue was up 14.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.37 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Gentex will post 2.04 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Gentex announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback plan on Wednesday, July 16th that permits the company to repurchase 40,000,000 outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the auto parts company to repurchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Joseph B. Anderson, Jr. sold 3,764 shares of the 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 owned 5,939 shares in the company, valued at $135,824.93. This represents a 38.79% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.45% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Gentex

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in GNTX. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. increased its holdings in Gentex by 184.6% during the 2nd quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 32,078 shares of the auto parts company's stock valued at $705,000 after acquiring an additional 20,807 shares in the last quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Gentex by 39.5% during the second quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 70,950 shares of the auto parts company's stock worth $1,560,000 after buying an additional 20,083 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Gentex by 17.9% during the second quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC now owns 42,880 shares of the auto parts company's stock worth $943,000 after buying an additional 6,524 shares in the last quarter. Inspire Investing LLC grew its holdings in shares of Gentex by 9.4% during the second quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 30,651 shares of the auto parts company's stock worth $674,000 after buying an additional 2,626 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Gentex by 11.2% during the second quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 14,209 shares of the auto parts company's stock worth $312,000 after buying an additional 1,426 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.76% of the company's stock.

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.