Gentex (NASDAQ:GNTX) Hits New 12-Month Low – Time to Sell?

Gentex Co. (NASDAQ:GNTX) reached a new 52-week low during mid-day trading on Thursday . The company traded as low as $23.50 and last traded at $23.91, with a volume of 72023 shares. The stock had previously closed at $23.79.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

Gentex Price Performance

The business has a 50-day moving average of $25.65 and a 200-day moving average of $28.36. The firm has a market cap of $5.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.59, a P/E/G ratio of 0.84 and a beta of 0.90.

Gentex (NASDAQ:GNTX) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 posted $0.50 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Gentex Co. will post 2.04 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Gentex Announces Dividend

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 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 2.01%. Gentex’s payout ratio is 27.27%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Gentex

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of GNTX. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in Gentex by 5.8% in the third quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. now owns 7,446 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $221,000 after buying an additional 408 shares during the period. 180 Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in Gentex by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. 180 Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 65,805 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $1,891,000 after acquiring an additional 437 shares during the period. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Gentex by 6.5% during the 4th quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 7,445 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $214,000 after purchasing an additional 457 shares during the last quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. lifted its holdings in Gentex by 32.5% during the 4th quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. now owns 2,419 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $70,000 after purchasing an additional 593 shares during the last quarter. Finally, ProShare Advisors LLC boosted its position in Gentex by 6.0% during the fourth quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 10,641 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $306,000 after purchasing an additional 605 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 86.76% of the company’s stock.

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.