Gentex Co. (NASDAQ:GNTX) Short Interest Up 27.6% in March

Gentex Co. (NASDAQ:GNTX) was the recipient of a significant growth in short interest during the month of March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totalling 7,480,000 shares, a growth of 27.6% from the March 15th total of 5,860,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 2,330,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 3.2 days. Currently, 3.3% of the company’s shares are short sold.

Gentex Trading Down 2.2 %

GNTX stock traded down $0.48 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $21.08. 331,741 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,691,495. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.84 and a beta of 0.84. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $23.52 and a 200-day moving average price of $27.11. Gentex has a 12-month low of $20.28 and a 12-month high of $35.33.

Gentex (NASDAQ:GNTX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 31st. The auto parts company reported $0.39 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 quarter last year, the business earned $0.50 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Gentex will post 2.04 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Gentex Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 23rd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 9th will be issued a $0.12 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 9th. This represents a $0.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.28%. Gentex’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 27.27%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

GNTX has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Guggenheim set a $30.00 price objective on Gentex in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. B. Riley reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $32.50 price objective (down previously from $37.00) on shares of Gentex in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on shares of Gentex from $34.00 to $32.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 3rd. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price objective on Gentex from $28.00 to $23.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 10th. Finally, Robert W. Baird reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $25.00 target price (down previously from $31.00) on shares of Gentex in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Gentex currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $29.06.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Gentex

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. State of Alaska Department of Revenue increased its stake in Gentex by 0.7% during the first quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 104,185 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $2,427,000 after purchasing an additional 713 shares during the last quarter. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Gentex in the 1st quarter valued at about $455,000. Cardinal Capital Management grew its position in shares of Gentex by 7.8% during the 1st quarter. Cardinal Capital Management now owns 70,837 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $1,651,000 after buying an additional 5,107 shares during the last quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC raised its stake in Gentex by 19.9% during the first quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 1,061,692 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $24,737,000 after acquiring an additional 175,906 shares during the period. Finally, Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC raised its stake in Gentex by 42.9% during the first quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 50,056 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $1,166,000 after acquiring an additional 15,025 shares during the period. 86.76% of the stock is currently owned by 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.