Gentex Corporation $GNTX Stock: VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al Increases Stake

VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al raised its position in shares of Gentex Corporation (NASDAQ:GNTX) by 31.6% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 193,400 shares of the auto parts company’s stock after buying an additional 46,400 shares during the quarter. VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al owned about 0.09% of Gentex worth $4,205,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of GNTX. XXEC Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Gentex in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $7,705,220,000. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new stake in Gentex during the second quarter valued at approximately $550,287,000. Caisse de depot et placement du Quebec purchased a new stake in Gentex during the second quarter valued at approximately $79,924,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp acquired a new stake in Gentex in the second quarter valued at approximately $52,004,000. Finally, Freestone Grove Partners LP acquired a new stake in Gentex in the second quarter valued at approximately $47,045,000. 86.76% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group downgraded Gentex from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and reduced their price target for the stock from $23.00 to $20.00 in a research report on Tuesday, October 6th. UBS Group reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $21.00 price objective (down from $24.00) on shares of Gentex in a research report on Monday, October 26th. B. Riley Financial dropped their target price on Gentex from $29.00 to $25.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, October 26th. Weiss Ratings lowered Gentex from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 8th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on shares of Gentex from $27.00 to $26.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, October 26th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Gentex presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $23.08.

Gentex Price Performance

GNTX stock opened at $19.87 on Monday. Gentex Corporation has a 52 week low of $19.75 and a 52 week high of $26.48. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $21.92 and a 200-day simple moving average of $23.10. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.68 and a beta of 0.85.

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

Gentex Announces Dividend

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

Gentex Profile

Gentex Corporation (NASDAQ:GNTX) is a technology manufacturer headquartered in Zeeland, Michigan. Founded in 1974, the company develops products primarily for the automotive industry, along with selected applications in the aerospace and fire-protection markets.

Gentex is best known for its automatic-dimming rearview and side-view mirrors, which use electrochromic technology to reduce glare. Its automotive product portfolio also includes camera-based driver-assistance systems, digital vision and sensing technologies, connected-car products, overhead console systems, and HomeLink universal garage-door and home-control systems.