Proficio Capital Partners LLC Buys New Position in Gentex Co. (NASDAQ:GNTX)

Proficio Capital Partners LLC bought a new stake in Gentex Co. (NASDAQ:GNTX) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 31,057 shares of the auto parts company’s stock, valued at approximately $892,000.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in GNTX. Empowered Funds LLC boosted its position in shares of Gentex by 42.7% in the 3rd quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 21,748 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $646,000 after purchasing an additional 6,505 shares during the period. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans lifted its position in Gentex by 10.1% during the 3rd quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 392,445 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $11,651,000 after acquiring an additional 36,134 shares during the period. Commerce Bank lifted its position in Gentex by 20.7% during the 3rd quarter. Commerce Bank now owns 16,468 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $489,000 after acquiring an additional 2,827 shares during the period. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. lifted its position in Gentex by 155.1% during the 3rd quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 136,020 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $4,038,000 after acquiring an additional 82,701 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in Gentex by 0.4% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,554,823 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $46,163,000 after acquiring an additional 6,106 shares during the period. 86.76% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Gentex Stock Down 0.7 %

GNTX stock opened at $23.91 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.84 and a beta of 0.90. Gentex Co. has a 52-week low of $23.50 and a 52-week high of $36.49. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $25.53 and its 200-day simple moving average is $28.27.

Gentex (NASDAQ:GNTX) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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 last year, the business earned $0.50 earnings per share. As a group, analysts anticipate that Gentex Co. will post 2.04 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Gentex Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 23rd. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 9th will be given a dividend of $0.12 per share. This represents a $0.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.01%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 9th. Gentex’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 27.27%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

Gentex Profile

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.