Gentex (NASDAQ:GNTX) Sets New 52-Week Low Following Weak Earnings

Gentex Co. (NASDAQ:GNTX) hit a new 52-week low on Friday following a dissappointing earnings announcement. The company traded as low as $25.10 and last traded at $26.51, with a volume of 551311 shares. The stock had previously closed at $28.22.

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 18.25% and a net margin of 18.37%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.50 earnings per share.

Gentex Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 22nd. Investors of record on Wednesday, January 8th were issued a $0.12 dividend. This represents a $0.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.85%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, January 8th. Gentex’s dividend payout ratio is currently 25.67%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

GNTX has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Bank of America dropped their target price on shares of Gentex from $39.00 to $35.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, October 14th. Guggenheim dropped their target price on shares of Gentex from $35.00 to $34.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, November 21st. Finally, Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on shares of Gentex from $35.00 to $37.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, October 28th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $35.13.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. EdgePoint Investment Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Gentex by 1.5% in the 3rd quarter. EdgePoint Investment Group Inc. now owns 7,699,919 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $228,611,000 after acquiring an additional 111,500 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Gentex by 5.6% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,368,004 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $159,406,000 after acquiring an additional 285,802 shares during the last quarter. Disciplined Growth Investors Inc. MN lifted its holdings in shares of Gentex by 5.5% in the 3rd quarter. Disciplined Growth Investors Inc. MN now owns 4,493,914 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $133,424,000 after acquiring an additional 234,083 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its holdings in shares of Gentex by 179.7% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,000,796 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $59,404,000 after acquiring an additional 1,285,519 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Gentex by 0.4% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,554,823 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $46,163,000 after acquiring an additional 6,106 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.76% of the company’s stock.

Gentex Stock Performance

The stock’s fifty day moving average is $29.03 and its 200 day moving average is $29.88. The stock has a market cap of $5.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.86, a P/E/G ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 0.91.

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.