Gentex (NASDAQ:GNTX) Hits New 52-Week Low – Should You Sell?

Gentex Co. (NASDAQ:GNTX) shares reached a new 52-week low during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as low as $24.55 and last traded at $24.86, with a volume of 33031 shares. The stock had previously closed at $24.81.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on GNTX shares. UBS Group cut their price target on shares of Gentex from $30.00 to $29.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on Gentex from $34.00 to $32.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on Gentex from $35.00 to $37.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, October 28th. Guggenheim cut their price target on shares of Gentex from $35.00 to $34.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, November 21st. 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 note on Monday, February 3rd. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $33.06.

Gentex Trading Down 2.0 %

The company has a market capitalization of $5.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.86 and a beta of 0.91. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $28.05 and a 200-day simple moving average of $29.33.

Gentex (NASDAQ:GNTX) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The auto parts company reported $0.39 earnings per share (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 prior year, the business posted $0.50 earnings per share. On average, research analysts forecast that Gentex Co. will post 2.04 EPS for the current year.

Gentex Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 22nd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, January 8th were given a dividend of $0.12 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, January 8th. This represents a $0.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.97%. Gentex’s payout ratio is 27.27%.

Institutional Trading of Gentex

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its position in shares of Gentex by 162.4% in the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 5,249,230 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $150,810,000 after acquiring an additional 3,248,434 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in Gentex during the fourth quarter worth $51,959,000. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its holdings in Gentex by 6.1% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 18,023,056 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $517,802,000 after purchasing an additional 1,038,912 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in Gentex during the fourth quarter valued at $24,479,000. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Gentex by 66.9% during the fourth quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,657,397 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $47,617,000 after purchasing an additional 664,389 shares during the period. 86.76% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Gentex

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.