Gentex (NASDAQ:GNTX) Sets New 12-Month Low – Should You Sell?

Gentex Co. (NASDAQ:GNTX)’s stock price reached a new 52-week low during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The company traded as low as $24.27 and last traded at $24.28, with a volume of 765983 shares. The stock had previously closed at $24.77.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

GNTX has been the subject of a number of research reports. Robert W. Baird increased their target price on Gentex from $35.00 to $37.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, October 28th. B. Riley reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $32.50 price objective (down from $37.00) on shares of Gentex in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Guggenheim decreased 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on Gentex from $34.00 to $32.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, UBS Group decreased their price objective on Gentex from $30.00 to $29.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $33.06.

Gentex Stock Down 1.5 %

The business has a 50 day moving average price of $27.59 and a 200 day moving average price of $29.14. The stock has a market cap of $5.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.87, a PEG ratio of 0.84 and a beta of 0.91.

Gentex (NASDAQ:GNTX) last released its earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The auto parts company reported $0.39 earnings per share 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 previous year, the business posted $0.50 earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect that Gentex Co. will post 2.04 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Gentex Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 22nd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, January 8th were given a $0.12 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, January 8th. This represents a $0.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.97%. Gentex’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 27.27%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Gentex

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of GNTX. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio grew its stake in Gentex by 2.9% in the fourth quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 109,655 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $3,150,000 after purchasing an additional 3,137 shares in the last quarter. Burgundy Asset Management Ltd. grew its position in shares of 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 worth $158,498,000 after buying an additional 86,929 shares in the last quarter. Novem Group purchased a new position in Gentex during the 4th quarter valued at about $279,000. Taylor Hoffman Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Gentex by 5.8% during the fourth quarter. Taylor Hoffman Capital Management LLC now owns 146,706 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $4,215,000 after purchasing an additional 8,102 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Voloridge Investment Management LLC raised its stake in Gentex by 69.6% in the fourth quarter. Voloridge Investment Management LLC now owns 752,101 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $21,608,000 after buying an additional 308,774 shares in the last quarter. 86.76% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.