Gentex (NASDAQ:GNTX) Cut to “Hold” at Wall Street Zen

Gentex (NASDAQ:GNTX) was downgraded by research analysts at Wall Street Zen from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Sunday.

A number of other analysts have also weighed in on the stock. B. Riley Financial reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $29.00 price objective (up from $28.00) on shares of Gentex in a research report on Monday, April 27th. Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on Gentex from $25.00 to $26.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, April 27th. Freedom Capital raised Gentex to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, March 27th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Gentex from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 23rd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Gentex from $27.00 to $28.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 14th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has issued a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Gentex currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $27.00.

Gentex Stock Performance

GNTX stock traded up $0.34 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $24.20. 1,917,330 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,738,910. Gentex has a one year low of $20.48 and a one year high of $29.38. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.15 billion, a PE ratio of 13.60 and a beta of 0.78. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $24.33 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $23.49.

Gentex (NASDAQ:GNTX) last released its earnings results on Friday, April 24th. The auto parts company reported $0.48 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.44 by $0.04. Gentex had a net margin of 14.75% and a return on equity of 16.27%. The firm had revenue of $675.44 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $649.42 million. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.42 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 17.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts expect that Gentex will post 1.97 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Gentex

In other Gentex news, Director Richard O. Schaum sold 4,815 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $23.31, for a total value of $112,237.65. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 81,443 shares in the company, valued at $1,898,436.33. This represents a 5.58% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Joseph B. Anderson, Jr. sold 5,939 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $22.98, for a total transaction of $136,478.22. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 16,693 shares of company stock worth $385,194 in the last 90 days. 0.55% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of GNTX. Royal Bank of Canada raised its position in Gentex by 33.1% during the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 189,561 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $4,418,000 after purchasing an additional 47,150 shares in the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Gentex by 1.8% during the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 1,321,634 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $30,794,000 after buying an additional 23,454 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC grew its position in shares of Gentex by 255.6% during the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 81,142 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $1,891,000 after buying an additional 58,323 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. increased its stake in shares of Gentex by 8.0% during the second quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 813,163 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $17,881,000 after buying an additional 60,127 shares during the period. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Gentex by 2,038.4% during the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 4,512 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $99,000 after buying an additional 4,301 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 86.76% of the company’s stock.

About Gentex

Gentex Corporation (NASDAQ: GNTX) is a global technology company specializing in the design and manufacture of automotive and aerospace products. The company’s primary business centers on automatic-dimming rearview mirrors, advanced driver-assistance systems (ADAS), and camera-based driver monitoring technologies. In the automotive sector, Gentex supplies exterior and interior mirrors with integrated electronics, connectivity features, and safety capabilities to many of the world’s leading original equipment manufacturers (OEMs).