Gentex (NASDAQ:GNTX) Hits New 1-Year Low – Should You Sell?

Gentex Co. (NASDAQ:GNTX)’s share price reached a new 52-week low during trading on Friday . The company traded as low as $23.41 and last traded at $23.51, with a volume of 631780 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $23.88.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

GNTX has been the topic of several research analyst reports. B. Riley reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $32.50 price objective (down from $37.00) on shares of Gentex in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Robert W. Baird set a $31.00 price objective on shares of Gentex in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on shares of Gentex from $34.00 to $32.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Guggenheim set a $30.00 price target on shares of Gentex in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, UBS Group dropped their price objective on shares of Gentex from $30.00 to $29.00 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 assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Gentex currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $31.81.

Gentex Stock Down 2.0 %

The stock has a market cap of $5.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.30, a PEG ratio of 0.84 and a beta of 0.90. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $25.29 and a 200-day simple moving average of $28.11.

Gentex (NASDAQ:GNTX) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 31st. The auto parts company reported $0.39 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 quarter last year, the company posted $0.50 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts expect that Gentex Co. will post 2.04 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Gentex Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 23rd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 9th will be issued a dividend of $0.12 per share. This represents a $0.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.05%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 9th. Gentex’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 27.27%.

Institutional Trading of Gentex

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in GNTX. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its stake in Gentex by 162.4% in the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 5,249,230 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $150,810,000 after buying an additional 3,248,434 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Gentex in the 4th quarter valued at about $51,959,000. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its stake in Gentex by 6.1% during the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 18,023,056 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $517,802,000 after purchasing an additional 1,038,912 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in Gentex during the 4th quarter valued at about $24,479,000. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. grew its position in Gentex by 66.9% in the 4th quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,657,397 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $47,617,000 after purchasing an additional 664,389 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.76% of the company’s stock.

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.