Gentex (NASDAQ:GNTX) Hits New 1-Year Low – Should You Sell?

Gentex Corporation (NASDAQ:GNTX) shares hit a new 52-week low on Monday. The company traded as low as $19.72 and last traded at $19.77, with a volume of 234,372 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $19.88.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

GNTX has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Robert W. Baird dropped their price target on Gentex from $25.00 to $24.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, October 26th. The Goldman Sachs Group downgraded Gentex from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $23.00 to $20.00 in a report on Tuesday, October 6th. Freedom Capital lowered Gentex from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 29th. Weiss Ratings lowered Gentex from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 8th. Finally, BNP Paribas Exane cut their price target on shares of Gentex from $23.00 to $22.50 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, October 26th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Gentex has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $23.08.

Gentex Stock Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $4.20 billion, a PE ratio of 10.59 and a beta of 0.85. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $21.59 and its 200-day moving average price is $23.01.

Gentex (NASDAQ:GNTX) last announced its earnings results on Friday, October 23rd. The auto parts company reported $0.47 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.50 by ($0.03). The business had revenue of $647.71 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $669.69 million. Gentex had a return on equity of 16.67% and a net margin of 15.15%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 1.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.46 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts expect that Gentex Corporation will post 2.02 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Gentex Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, October 21st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, October 7th were paid a dividend of $0.12 per share. This represents a $0.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.4%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, October 7th. Gentex’s payout ratio is 25.81%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Gentex

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. IFG Advisory LLC boosted its holdings in Gentex by 29.9% during the 3rd quarter. IFG Advisory LLC now owns 136,915 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $2,977,000 after acquiring an additional 31,517 shares during the period. Allworth Financial LP lifted its holdings in Gentex by 7.7% during the 3rd quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 7,040 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $153,000 after buying an additional 506 shares in the last quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. boosted its position in Gentex by 20.4% in the 3rd quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 147,059 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $3,197,000 after buying an additional 24,872 shares during the period. Gagnon Securities LLC boosted its position in Gentex by 2.2% in the 3rd quarter. Gagnon Securities LLC now owns 58,417 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $1,270,000 after buying an additional 1,258 shares during the period. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group Inc. purchased a new position in Gentex in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $674,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.76% of the company’s stock.

Gentex Company Profile

Gentex Corporation is a technology company headquartered in Zeeland, Michigan. It develops and manufactures products primarily for the global automotive industry, including automatic-dimming rearview and exterior mirrors, camera-based visibility systems, and other electronic features for vehicles.

Its automotive offerings also include HomeLink, a vehicle-based wireless control system for compatible garage doors, gates, and home devices. Gentex supplies automakers around the world and works with customers to integrate its products into new vehicles.

Beyond automotive products, Gentex makes electronically dimmable windows for aircraft and fire-protection products such as smoke detectors and alarms.