Gentherm (NASDAQ:THRM) Sees Strong Trading Volume – Time to Buy?

Gentherm Inc (NASDAQ:THRM) saw unusually-strong trading volume on Monday. Approximately 714,839 shares changed hands during trading, an increase of 50% from the previous session’s volume of 478,047 shares. The stock last traded at $30.9620 and had previously closed at $29.68.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have issued reports on THRM. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Gentherm from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, September 28th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Gentherm from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, August 1st. Freedom Capital downgraded Gentherm from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, July 24th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on shares of Gentherm from $44.00 to $59.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, July 24th. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded Gentherm from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 29th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $46.50.

Gentherm Price Performance

The company has a current ratio of 2.06, a quick ratio of 1.49 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38. The stock has a market cap of $955.58 million, a PE ratio of 35.72, a P/E/G ratio of 0.68 and a beta of 1.37. The company’s 50 day moving average is $38.11 and its 200-day moving average is $35.02.

Gentherm (NASDAQ:THRM) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 23rd. The auto parts company reported $0.75 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.56 by $0.19. Gentherm had a return on equity of 12.06% and a net margin of 1.68%. The firm had revenue of $416.17 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $382.90 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.54 earnings per share. Gentherm’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Gentherm Inc will post 2.92 earnings per share for the current year.

Gentherm Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a special dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, October 7th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 28th were issued a $1.90 dividend.

Gentherm announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share buyback plan on Thursday, July 23rd that permits the company to repurchase $400.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the auto parts company to purchase up to 36.2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are often a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Activity at Gentherm

In other Gentherm news, SVP Wayne Kauffman, III sold 4,700 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.21, for a total value of $203,087.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 27,421 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,184,861.41. This trade represents a 14.63% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Company insiders own 2.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. BlackRock Inc. bought a new stake in Gentherm in the second quarter valued at $165,005,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its position in Gentherm by 7.0% in the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,474,493 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $40,960,000 after purchasing an additional 96,280 shares during the last quarter. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC bought a new stake in shares of Gentherm during the second quarter valued at approximately $27,822,000. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership grew its holdings in Gentherm by 1.8% in the 1st quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 554,641 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $15,408,000 after buying an additional 10,058 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE bought a new stake in Gentherm during the 2nd quarter valued at $9,986,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.13% of the company’s stock.

About Gentherm

Gentherm Incorporated (NASDAQ: THRM) develops and manufactures thermal management and comfort technologies for the automotive and medical industries. The company’s automotive products include heated and ventilated seats, climate-controlled seating systems, heated steering wheels, thermal management systems for electric vehicles, and other components designed to improve passenger comfort and energy efficiency.

In the medical market, Gentherm provides patient temperature-management products and systems used in hospitals and other healthcare settings.