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

Shares of Gentex Co. (NASDAQ:GNTX) have been assigned a consensus recommendation of “Hold” from the eight brokerages that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month target price among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $31.81.

GNTX has been the topic of several research analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on Gentex from $34.00 to $32.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Robert W. Baird set a $31.00 price target on Gentex in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Guggenheim set a $30.00 price objective on shares of Gentex in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. B. Riley reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $32.50 price objective (down from $37.00) on shares of Gentex in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, UBS Group decreased their target price on Gentex from $30.00 to $29.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 3rd.

Gentex Trading Down 0.7 %

Shares of Gentex stock opened at $23.91 on Friday. Gentex has a 12 month low of $23.50 and a 12 month high of $36.49. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $25.53 and its 200-day moving average price is $28.27. The firm has a market cap of $5.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.59, a P/E/G ratio of 0.84 and a beta of 0.90.

Gentex (NASDAQ:GNTX) last announced its earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The auto parts company reported $0.39 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.49 by ($0.10). Gentex had a net margin of 17.49% and a return on equity of 16.74%. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.50 EPS. Analysts forecast that Gentex will post 2.04 earnings per share for the current year.

Gentex Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 23rd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 9th will be issued a $0.12 dividend. This represents a $0.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.01%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 9th. Gentex’s payout ratio is 27.27%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Gentex

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its holdings in Gentex by 162.4% during the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 5,249,230 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $150,810,000 after acquiring an additional 3,248,434 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Gentex in the 4th quarter valued at about $51,959,000. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its holdings in Gentex by 6.1% in 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 in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Gentex during the fourth quarter worth about $24,479,000. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Gentex by 66.9% during the fourth quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,657,397 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $47,617,000 after buying an additional 664,389 shares in the last quarter. 86.76% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.