Vestcor Inc Increases Stock Position in Gentex Co. (NASDAQ:GNTX)

Vestcor Inc lifted its holdings in shares of Gentex Co. (NASDAQ:GNTX) by 44.3% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 26,726 shares of the auto parts company’s stock after acquiring an additional 8,204 shares during the quarter. Vestcor Inc’s holdings in Gentex were worth $768,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of GNTX. Midwest Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Gentex during the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Synergy Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in Gentex during the 4th quarter worth approximately $34,000. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. increased its holdings in Gentex by 32.5% during the 4th quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. now owns 2,419 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $70,000 after acquiring an additional 593 shares during the period. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new stake in Gentex during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $125,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings in Gentex by 159.1% during the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 5,133 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $147,000 after acquiring an additional 3,152 shares during the period. 86.76% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently weighed in on GNTX. UBS Group decreased their target price on shares of Gentex from $30.00 to $29.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Guggenheim set a $30.00 target price on shares of Gentex in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Robert W. Baird set a $31.00 price target on shares of Gentex in a report on Monday, February 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on shares of Gentex from $34.00 to $32.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, B. Riley restated a “buy” rating and set a $32.50 price objective (down previously from $37.00) on shares of Gentex in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Gentex currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $31.81.

Gentex Stock Up 1.9 %

Shares of NASDAQ:GNTX opened at $24.31 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $5.52 billion, a PE ratio of 13.81, a PEG ratio of 0.84 and a beta of 0.90. The company’s fifty day moving average is $25.87 and its 200 day moving average is $28.49. Gentex Co. has a 52 week low of $23.63 and a 52 week high of $36.75.

Gentex (NASDAQ:GNTX) last issued its earnings results 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 in the previous year, the firm posted $0.50 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Gentex Co. will post 2.04 EPS for the current year.

Gentex Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 23rd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 9th will be issued a $0.12 dividend. This represents a $0.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.97%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 9th. Gentex’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 27.27%.

Gentex Profile

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.