Gentex (NASDAQ:GNTX) Hits New 1-Year Low – Here’s Why

Gentex Co. (NASDAQ:GNTX)’s stock price hit a new 52-week low during trading on Friday . The company traded as low as $23.41 and last traded at $23.51, with a volume of 631780 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $23.88.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on GNTX. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on Gentex from $34.00 to $32.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. UBS Group reduced their price target on Gentex from $30.00 to $29.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Guggenheim set a $30.00 price objective on Gentex in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Robert W. Baird set a $31.00 price objective on Gentex in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, B. Riley reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $32.50 price target (down from $37.00) on shares of Gentex in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Gentex presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $31.81.

Gentex Stock Performance

The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $25.20 and its 200-day simple moving average is $28.05. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.32 billion, a PE ratio of 13.30, a P/E/G ratio of 0.84 and a beta of 0.90.

Gentex (NASDAQ:GNTX) last announced its quarterly 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 quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.50 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that Gentex Co. will post 2.04 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Gentex Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 23rd. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 9th will be paid a $0.12 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 9th. This represents a $0.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.05%. Gentex’s payout ratio is 27.27%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Gentex

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in GNTX. 111 Capital bought a new position in shares of Gentex during the fourth quarter valued at $744,000. Brooklyn FI LLC bought a new position in shares of Gentex during the fourth quarter valued at $278,000. Forum Financial Management LP purchased a new stake in shares of Gentex during the fourth quarter valued at $214,000. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio increased its holdings in Gentex by 2.9% in the 4th quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 109,655 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $3,150,000 after buying an additional 3,137 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Burgundy Asset Management Ltd. lifted its stake in Gentex by 1.6% during the 4th quarter. Burgundy Asset Management Ltd. now owns 5,516,817 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $158,498,000 after acquiring an additional 86,929 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.76% of the company’s stock.

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.