Gentex (NASDAQ:GNTX) Downgraded to “Hold” Rating by Freedom Capital

Gentex (NASDAQ:GNTX) was downgraded by equities researchers at Freedom Capital from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday,Zacks.com reports.

Other analysts have also issued research reports about the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Gentex from $27.00 to $28.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, May 14th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Gentex from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, July 12th. Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on Gentex from $25.00 to $26.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, April 27th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Gentex from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 23rd. Finally, UBS Group reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $25.00 price objective (down from $26.00) on shares of Gentex in a report on Thursday, July 9th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $27.00.

Gentex Stock Down 1.4%

NASDAQ:GNTX opened at $23.64 on Wednesday. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $24.55 and its 200-day moving average price is $23.50. Gentex has a 52 week low of $20.48 and a 52 week high of $29.38. The stock has a market cap of $5.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.51 and a beta of 0.78.

Gentex (NASDAQ:GNTX) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, July 24th. The auto parts company reported $0.58 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.50 by $0.08. The company had revenue of $651.30 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $669.65 million. Gentex had a net margin of 15.50% and a return on equity of 16.78%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.43 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Gentex will post 1.99 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Joseph B. Anderson, Jr. sold 5,939 shares of Gentex stock in a transaction on Friday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $22.98, for a total value of $136,478.22. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Brian C. Walker sold 5,939 shares of Gentex stock in a transaction on Friday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $22.98, for a total value of $136,478.22. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 24,205 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $556,230.90. The trade was a 19.70% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 0.55% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Royal Bank of Canada grew its stake in shares of Gentex by 33.1% during the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 189,561 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $4,418,000 after purchasing an additional 47,150 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Gentex by 1.8% in the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 1,321,634 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $30,794,000 after purchasing an additional 23,454 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC lifted its stake in shares of Gentex by 255.6% in the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 81,142 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $1,891,000 after purchasing an additional 58,323 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of Gentex by 8.0% in the second quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 813,163 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $17,881,000 after buying an additional 60,127 shares during the last quarter. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Gentex by 2,038.4% in the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 4,512 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $99,000 after buying an additional 4,301 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.76% of the company’s stock.

Gentex Company Profile

Gentex Corporation (NASDAQ: GNTX) is a global technology company specializing in the design and manufacture of automotive and aerospace products. The company’s primary business centers on automatic-dimming rearview mirrors, advanced driver-assistance systems (ADAS), and camera-based driver monitoring technologies. In the automotive sector, Gentex supplies exterior and interior mirrors with integrated electronics, connectivity features, and safety capabilities to many of the world’s leading original equipment manufacturers (OEMs).