Short Interest in Gentex Co. (NASDAQ:GNTX) Increases By 11.9%

Gentex Co. (NASDAQ:GNTX) was the target of a significant increase in short interest in the month of October. As of October 31st, there was short interest totalling 6,000,000 shares, an increase of 11.9% from the October 15th total of 5,360,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 1,600,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 3.8 days. Currently, 2.6% of the company’s shares are short sold.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on GNTX. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on Gentex from $36.00 to $35.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, July 22nd. BNP Paribas downgraded Gentex from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $34.00 price target for the company. in a report on Tuesday, July 30th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price target on Gentex from $33.00 to $31.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. Robert W. Baird raised their price target on Gentex from $35.00 to $37.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, October 28th. Finally, Bank of America lowered their price target on Gentex from $39.00 to $35.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, October 14th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Gentex presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $36.00.

Gentex Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ GNTX traded down $0.54 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $29.61. The company had a trading volume of 983,721 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,463,562. Gentex has a 1-year low of $28.30 and a 1-year high of $37.58. The company has a market capitalization of $6.73 billion, a PE ratio of 15.83, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 0.91. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $29.87 and its 200 day simple moving average is $31.75.

Gentex Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, October 23rd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, October 9th were issued a dividend of $0.12 per share. This represents a $0.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.62%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, October 9th. Gentex’s payout ratio is 25.67%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, major shareholder Corp Gentex purchased 3,152,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 23rd. The shares were purchased at an average price of $5.00 per share, for a total transaction of $15,762,500.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the insider now owns 6,463,808 shares in the company, valued at approximately $32,319,040. This represents a 95.20 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 0.41% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Gentex

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Quest Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Gentex in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Gladius Capital Management LP acquired a new stake in shares of Gentex during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $34,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Gentex by 173.1% during the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,341 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $42,000 after acquiring an additional 850 shares during the period. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. lifted its position in shares of Gentex by 227.8% during the 3rd quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. now owns 1,826 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $54,000 after acquiring an additional 1,269 shares during the period. Finally, HHM Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Gentex during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $67,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.76% of the company’s stock.

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.