JPMorgan Chase & Co. Cuts Gentex (NASDAQ:GNTX) Price Target to $27.00

Gentex (NASDAQ:GNTX) had its price target lowered by JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $28.00 to $27.00 in a report published on Monday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a neutral rating on the auto parts company’s stock.

Several other research firms also recently commented on GNTX. Wall Street Zen downgraded Gentex from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday, July 12th. Weiss Ratings raised Gentex from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 23rd. Freedom Capital lowered Gentex from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 29th. UBS Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $25.00 price target (down from $26.00) on shares of Gentex in a research report on Thursday, July 9th. Finally, B. Riley Financial reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $29.00 price objective (up from $28.00) on shares of Gentex in a report on Monday, April 27th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $26.80.

Gentex Stock Performance

Shares of GNTX stock opened at $23.40 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $4.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.38 and a beta of 0.79. Gentex has a 52 week low of $20.48 and a 52 week high of $29.38. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $24.47 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $23.50.

Gentex (NASDAQ:GNTX) last released its earnings results on Friday, July 24th. The auto parts company reported $0.58 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.50 by $0.08. Gentex had a net margin of 15.50% and a return on equity of 16.78%. The firm had revenue of $651.30 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $669.65 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.43 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that Gentex will post 2.02 earnings per share for the current year.

Gentex Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 22nd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, July 8th were given a $0.12 dividend. This represents a $0.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.1%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, July 8th. Gentex’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 25.40%.

Insider Activity at Gentex

In related news, Director Joseph B. Anderson, Jr. sold 5,939 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $22.98, for a total transaction of $136,478.22. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Brian C. Walker sold 5,939 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $22.98, for a total transaction of $136,478.22. Following the sale, the director directly owned 24,205 shares in the company, valued at $556,230.90. This trade represents 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

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Royal Bank of Canada grew its position in Gentex by 33.1% during the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 189,561 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $4,418,000 after buying an additional 47,150 shares in the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its holdings 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 valued at $30,794,000 after acquiring an additional 23,454 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC boosted its position in shares of Gentex by 255.6% during the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 81,142 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $1,891,000 after acquiring an additional 58,323 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Gentex by 8.0% during the 2nd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 813,163 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $17,881,000 after acquiring an additional 60,127 shares during the last quarter. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Gentex by 2,038.4% during the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 4,512 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $99,000 after purchasing an additional 4,301 shares in 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).