Short Interest in Gentex Co. (NASDAQ:GNTX) Drops By 11.0%

Gentex Co. (NASDAQ:GNTX) saw a large drop in short interest in the month of January. As of January 31st, there was short interest totalling 5,810,000 shares, a drop of 11.0% from the January 15th total of 6,530,000 shares. Approximately 2.6% of the company’s shares are sold short. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 1,580,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 3.7 days.

Gentex Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ GNTX traded up $0.29 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $24.77. 2,083,566 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,965,844. Gentex has a 12 month low of $24.35 and a 12 month high of $37.58. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $27.72 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $29.18. The company has a market capitalization of $5.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.07, a P/E/G ratio of 0.86 and a beta of 0.91.

Gentex (NASDAQ:GNTX) last posted its earnings results on Friday, January 31st. 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 16.74% and a net margin of 17.49%. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.50 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Gentex will post 2.04 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Gentex Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 22nd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, January 8th were issued a dividend of $0.12 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, January 8th. This represents a $0.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.94%. Gentex’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 27.27%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Lindenwold Advisors INC raised its holdings in shares of Gentex by 2.8% during the third quarter. Lindenwold Advisors INC now owns 12,539 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $372,000 after acquiring an additional 347 shares during the period. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in Gentex by 5.8% during the 3rd quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. now owns 7,446 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $221,000 after purchasing an additional 408 shares in the last quarter. 180 Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Gentex by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. 180 Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 65,805 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $1,891,000 after purchasing an additional 437 shares during the period. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Gentex by 6.5% in the fourth quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 7,445 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $214,000 after purchasing an additional 457 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Intellectus Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of Gentex by 6.1% during the third quarter. Intellectus Partners LLC now owns 8,452 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $251,000 after buying an additional 484 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 86.76% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on GNTX shares. B. Riley reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $32.50 price target (down previously from $37.00) on shares of Gentex in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. UBS Group dropped their price target on shares of Gentex from $30.00 to $29.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on shares of Gentex from $35.00 to $37.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, October 28th. 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 research report on Thursday, November 21st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on Gentex from $34.00 to $32.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Gentex currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $33.06.

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.