Lazard Asset Management LLC Purchases 77,736 Shares of Gentherm Inc $THRM

Lazard Asset Management LLC increased its position in Gentherm Inc (NASDAQ:THRM) by 47.5% during the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 241,516 shares of the auto parts company’s stock after purchasing an additional 77,736 shares during the period. Lazard Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Gentherm were worth $6,709,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Farther Finance Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Gentherm by 160.3% in the 4th quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 812 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 500 shares during the last quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Gentherm during the fourth quarter valued at about $35,000. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Gentherm during the fourth quarter valued at about $50,000. Palladiem LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Gentherm during the fourth quarter worth about $52,000. Finally, Nisa Investment Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Gentherm by 21.5% in the fourth quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,994 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $73,000 after purchasing an additional 353 shares during the last quarter. 97.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Gentherm Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ THRM opened at $42.32 on Friday. Gentherm Inc has a 1 year low of $27.00 and a 1 year high of $48.35. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 48.64 and a beta of 1.38. The company’s 50-day moving average is $36.37 and its 200 day moving average is $33.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38, a current ratio of 2.06 and a quick ratio of 1.49.

Gentherm (NASDAQ:THRM) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 23rd. The auto parts company reported $0.75 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.56 by $0.19. The business had revenue of $404.94 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $382.90 million. Gentherm had a net margin of 1.68% and a return on equity of 12.06%. Gentherm’s quarterly revenue was up 11.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.54 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Gentherm Inc will post 2.92 earnings per share for the current year.

Gentherm announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback program on Thursday, July 23rd that permits the company to repurchase $400.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the auto parts company to purchase up to 36.2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are usually an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Freedom Capital downgraded Gentherm from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, July 24th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on Gentherm from $44.00 to $59.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, July 24th. Roth Capital reissued a “buy” rating and set a $50.00 target price on shares of Gentherm in a research note on Wednesday. Wall Street Zen raised Gentherm from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, April 25th. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded Gentherm from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a report on Wednesday. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have assigned a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $45.80.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Wayne S. Kauffman III sold 4,700 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.21, for a total value of $203,087.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 27,421 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,184,861.41. This represents a 14.63% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 2.10% of the company’s stock.

Gentherm Profile

Gentherm Incorporated (NASDAQ: THRM) is a global developer and supplier of advanced thermal management technologies for automotive, specialty vehicle, medical, consumer and industrial markets. The company’s core focus lies in delivering integrated heating and cooling systems designed to enhance energy efficiency, comfort and safety across a wide range of applications. Gentherm’s product portfolio includes seat thermal systems, heated and ventilated seating surfaces, steering wheel heaters, battery thermal management solutions, and climate systems for electric vehicles.

In the automotive sector, Gentherm partners with leading original equipment manufacturers to engineer and manufacture high-performance thermal solutions that meet stringent industry demands for reduced weight, lower energy consumption and improved passenger comfort.