Gentex Co. (NASDAQ:GNTX) Short Interest Up 5.8% in September

Gentex Co. (NASDAQ:GNTX) was the recipient of a large increase in short interest during the month of September. As of September 30th, there was short interest totalling 5,250,000 shares, an increase of 5.8% from the September 15th total of 4,960,000 shares. Approximately 2.3% of the company’s stock are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 1,580,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 3.3 days.

Insider Transactions at Gentex

In other news, major shareholder Corp Gentex bought 3,152,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, August 23rd. The stock was bought at an average cost of $5.00 per share, for a total transaction of $15,762,500.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the insider now directly owns 6,463,808 shares in the company, valued at approximately $32,319,040. The trade was a 0.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 0.41% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Gentex

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of GNTX. Phoenix Wealth Advisors boosted its position in Gentex by 3.1% during the second quarter. Phoenix Wealth Advisors now owns 10,196 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $344,000 after purchasing an additional 306 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in Gentex by 26.3% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,742 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $63,000 after acquiring an additional 363 shares during the period. Toronto Dominion Bank raised its position in Gentex by 0.9% during the first quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 42,346 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $1,530,000 after acquiring an additional 370 shares during the period. JLB & Associates Inc. lifted its holdings in Gentex by 1.7% during the first quarter. JLB & Associates Inc. now owns 24,381 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $881,000 after purchasing an additional 416 shares in the last quarter. Finally, United Services Automobile Association grew its position in shares of Gentex by 2.5% in the second quarter. United Services Automobile Association now owns 17,447 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $588,000 after purchasing an additional 427 shares during the period. 86.76% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Gentex Stock Up 1.5 %

Shares of GNTX stock opened at $29.69 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $6.86 billion, a PE ratio of 15.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.95 and a beta of 0.92. Gentex has a 52-week low of $27.86 and a 52-week high of $37.58. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $29.83 and a 200-day simple moving average of $32.48.

Gentex (NASDAQ:GNTX) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, July 26th. The auto parts company reported $0.37 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.52 by ($0.15). Gentex had a return on equity of 17.78% and a net margin of 17.87%. The company had revenue of $572.93 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $623.28 million. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Gentex will post 1.96 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Gentex Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 23rd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, October 9th will be given a $0.12 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, October 9th. This represents a $0.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.62%. Gentex’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 25.40%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. B. Riley dropped their price target on Gentex from $44.00 to $41.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, July 29th. UBS Group began coverage on shares of Gentex in a report on Wednesday, September 4th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $34.00 price target for the company. StockNews.com lowered shares of Gentex from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, July 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on Gentex from $36.00 to $35.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, July 22nd. Finally, Bank of America lowered their price target on Gentex from $39.00 to $35.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Gentex presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $36.13.

Gentex Company Profile

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.