Gentex Co. (NASDAQ:GNTX) Sees Large Growth in Short Interest

Gentex Co. (NASDAQ:GNTX) was the recipient of a large growth in short interest during the month of September. As of September 30th, there was short interest totalling 5,250,000 shares, a growth of 5.8% from the September 15th total of 4,960,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 1,580,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 3.3 days. Currently, 2.3% of the company’s shares are short sold.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently commented on GNTX shares. UBS Group assumed coverage on Gentex in a report on Wednesday, September 4th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $34.00 target price on the stock. B. Riley lowered their target price on shares of Gentex from $44.00 to $41.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, July 29th. Robert W. Baird cut their price target on shares of Gentex from $40.00 to $38.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, July 29th. BNP Paribas downgraded Gentex from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $34.00 price target for the company. in a report on Tuesday, July 30th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered Gentex from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 4th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $36.13.

Gentex Price Performance

Shares of GNTX stock traded down $0.06 on Wednesday, reaching $29.24. 785,384 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,451,408. The company has a 50-day moving average of $29.81 and a 200-day moving average of $32.50. The company has a market cap of $6.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.47, a PEG ratio of 0.95 and a beta of 0.92. Gentex has a one year low of $27.86 and a one year high of $37.58.

Gentex (NASDAQ:GNTX) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, July 26th. The auto parts company reported $0.37 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.52 by ($0.15). The firm had revenue of $572.93 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $623.28 million. Gentex had a return on equity of 17.78% and a net margin of 17.87%. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Gentex will post 1.96 EPS for the current year.

Gentex Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 23rd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, October 9th will be issued a dividend of $0.12 per share. This represents a $0.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.64%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, October 9th. Gentex’s dividend payout ratio is currently 25.40%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Gentex news, major shareholder Corp Gentex purchased 3,152,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 23rd. The stock was purchased at an average price of $5.00 per share, with a total value of $15,762,500.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the insider now owns 6,463,808 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $32,319,040. The trade was a 0.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Insiders own 0.41% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Gentex

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Quest Partners LLC bought a new stake in Gentex during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $31,000. Gladius Capital Management LP bought a new stake in Gentex during the second quarter worth $34,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in Gentex by 173.1% in the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,341 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $42,000 after buying an additional 850 shares during the last quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. lifted its stake in Gentex by 227.8% during the 3rd quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. now owns 1,826 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $54,000 after acquiring an additional 1,269 shares in the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in Gentex by 26.3% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,742 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $63,000 after acquiring an additional 363 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.