Gentex Corporation (NASDAQ:GNTX) Given Average Recommendation of “Hold” by Analysts

Shares of Gentex Corporation (NASDAQ:GNTX) have received a consensus recommendation of “Hold” from the nine research firms that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat reports. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 12-month target price among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $27.8571.

A number of research firms recently commented on GNTX. Robert W. Baird set a $26.00 price target on Gentex in a research report on Wednesday. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Gentex in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. UBS Group restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $29.00 price objective (up previously from $28.00) on shares of Gentex in a research report on Monday, October 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Gentex from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, October 20th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group set a $27.00 price target on shares of Gentex and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, October 27th.

Gentex Trading Up 2.7%

GNTX stock opened at $24.00 on Friday. Gentex has a 1-year low of $20.28 and a 1-year high of $29.38. The business’s 50 day moving average is $23.35 and its 200-day moving average is $25.19. The firm has a market cap of $5.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.12 and a beta of 0.78.

Gentex (NASDAQ:GNTX) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, October 24th. The auto parts company reported $0.46 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.47 by ($0.01). Gentex had a net margin of 15.61% and a return on equity of 15.86%. The company had revenue of $570.32 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $661.10 million. The firm’s revenue was up 7.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.53 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that Gentex will post 2.04 EPS for the current year.

Gentex Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 21st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, January 7th will be given a dividend of $0.12 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, January 7th. This represents a $0.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.0%. Gentex’s payout ratio is presently 28.24%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Royal Bank of Canada boosted its position in shares of Gentex by 33.1% during the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 189,561 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $4,418,000 after purchasing an additional 47,150 shares in the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its stake in Gentex by 1.8% during the 1st 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 period. Empowered Funds LLC raised its stake in Gentex by 255.6% during the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 81,142 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $1,891,000 after buying an additional 58,323 shares during the period. Voya Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in Gentex by 16.0% during the first quarter. Voya Investment Management LLC now owns 273,035 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $6,362,000 after acquiring an additional 37,594 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Parallel Advisors LLC grew its stake in Gentex by 127.8% in the second quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 20,065 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $441,000 after acquiring an additional 11,258 shares during the period. 86.76% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Gentex Company Profile

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).