Gentex (NASDAQ:GNTX) Hits New 1-Year Low – What’s Next?

Gentex Co. (NASDAQ:GNTX) hit a new 52-week low during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as low as $24.10 and last traded at $24.50, with a volume of 2010556 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $24.37.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have commented on GNTX shares. UBS Group reduced their price objective on Gentex from $30.00 to $29.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. B. Riley restated a “buy” rating and issued a $32.50 price target (down previously from $37.00) on shares of Gentex in a report on Monday, February 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on shares of Gentex from $34.00 to $32.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Guggenheim reduced their target price on shares of Gentex from $35.00 to $34.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. Finally, Robert W. Baird set a $31.00 price target on shares of Gentex in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Gentex currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $32.31.

Gentex Price Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $5.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.82, a PEG ratio of 0.84 and a beta of 0.91. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $26.90 and its 200-day moving average is $28.96.

Gentex (NASDAQ:GNTX) last issued its earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The auto parts company reported $0.39 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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 quarter last year, the business posted $0.50 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Gentex Co. will post 2.04 EPS for the current year.

Gentex Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 23rd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 9th will be given a $0.12 dividend. This represents a $0.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.97%. Gentex’s payout ratio is 27.27%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Gentex

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its holdings in shares of Gentex by 179.7% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,000,796 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $59,404,000 after buying an additional 1,285,519 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Gentex by 5.6% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,368,004 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $159,406,000 after acquiring an additional 285,802 shares during the period. Barclays PLC raised its holdings in shares of Gentex by 54.4% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 107,930 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $3,205,000 after purchasing an additional 38,027 shares in the last quarter. Reinhart Partners LLC. boosted its holdings in Gentex by 1.9% during the fourth quarter. Reinhart Partners LLC. now owns 1,124,403 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $32,304,000 after buying an additional 20,624 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hendershot Investments Inc. grew its position in Gentex by 3.8% in the fourth quarter. Hendershot Investments Inc. now owns 659,066 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $18,935,000 after buying an additional 24,231 shares during 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.