Villanova Investment Management Co Acquires New Stake in Gentex Corporation $GNTX

Villanova Investment Management Co bought a new stake in shares of Gentex Corporation (NASDAQ:GNTX) in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 70,510 shares of the auto parts company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,533,000.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. XXEC Inc. purchased a new position in Gentex in the second quarter worth $7,705,220,000. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Gentex in the 2nd quarter worth $550,287,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its position in shares of Gentex by 12.6% in the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 7,463,299 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $163,067,000 after purchasing an additional 833,919 shares in the last quarter. Caisse de depot et placement du Quebec purchased a new position in Gentex during the 2nd quarter worth $79,924,000. Finally, Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership grew its stake in Gentex by 21.7% during the 1st quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 2,995,044 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $65,442,000 after buying an additional 534,905 shares during the last quarter. 86.76% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Gentex Price Performance

Shares of GNTX opened at $20.21 on Friday. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $21.66 and its 200-day moving average price is $23.03. Gentex Corporation has a 1-year low of $19.75 and a 1-year high of $26.48. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.30 billion, a PE ratio of 10.62 and a beta of 0.85.

Gentex (NASDAQ:GNTX) last issued its earnings results on Friday, October 23rd. The auto parts company reported $0.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.50 by ($0.03). Gentex had a return on equity of 16.67% and a net margin of 15.15%. The firm had revenue of $647.71 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $669.69 million. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.46 EPS. The business’s revenue was down 1.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Gentex Corporation will post 2.02 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Gentex Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, October 21st. Investors of record on Wednesday, October 7th were issued a dividend of $0.12 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, October 7th. This represents a $0.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.4%. Gentex’s payout ratio is 25.81%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have commented on GNTX shares. Wall Street Zen cut Gentex from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday, July 12th. B. Riley Financial lowered their price target on Gentex from $29.00 to $25.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, October 26th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered Gentex from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $23.00 to $20.00 in a research note on Tuesday, October 6th. BNP Paribas Exane cut their price objective on shares of Gentex from $23.00 to $22.50 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, October 26th. Finally, Seaport Research Partners set a $25.00 price objective on shares of Gentex in a research report on Monday, October 26th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Gentex presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $23.08.

About Gentex

Gentex Corporation (NASDAQ:GNTX) is a technology manufacturer headquartered in Zeeland, Michigan. Founded in 1974, the company develops products primarily for the automotive industry, along with selected applications in the aerospace and fire-protection markets.

Gentex is best known for its automatic-dimming rearview and side-view mirrors, which use electrochromic technology to reduce glare. Its automotive product portfolio also includes camera-based driver-assistance systems, digital vision and sensing technologies, connected-car products, overhead console systems, and HomeLink universal garage-door and home-control systems.