Norges Bank Invests $51.96 Million in Gentex Co. (NASDAQ:GNTX)

Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Gentex Co. (NASDAQ:GNTX) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 1,808,526 shares of the auto parts company’s stock, valued at approximately $51,959,000. Norges Bank owned approximately 0.80% of Gentex at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Midwest Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Gentex in the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. TD Private Client Wealth LLC raised its position in Gentex by 138.8% in the fourth quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC now owns 1,139 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 662 shares during the last quarter. Synergy Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Gentex during the fourth quarter valued at about $34,000. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Gentex by 32.5% during the fourth quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. now owns 2,419 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $70,000 after purchasing an additional 593 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new position in shares of Gentex in the third quarter valued at approximately $125,000. Institutional investors own 86.76% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

Gentex Price Performance

Shares of Gentex stock opened at $22.14 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $24.70 and its 200 day moving average is $27.85. Gentex Co. has a one year low of $21.56 and a one year high of $36.24. The firm has a market cap of $5.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.58, a PEG ratio of 0.84 and a beta of 0.90.

Gentex (NASDAQ:GNTX) last posted its quarterly 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 return on equity of 16.74% and a net margin of 17.49%. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.50 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Gentex Co. will post 2.04 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Gentex Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 23rd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 9th will be issued a dividend of $0.12 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 9th. This represents a $0.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.17%. Gentex’s dividend payout ratio is currently 27.27%.

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.