Is Gentex Corp. (GNTX) A Smart Long-Term Buy?

Ariel Investments, an investment management firm, published its “Ariel Fund & Ariel Appreciation Fund” third-quarter 2021 investor letter – a copy of which can be downloaded here. A return of -0.17% was recorded by the Fund for the third quarter of 2021, compared to the Russell 2500TM Value Index, Russell 2500TM Index, and S&P 500® Index which had a -2.07%, -2.68%, and 0.58% returns respectively for the same period. You can take a look at the fund’s top 5 holdings to have an idea about their best picks for 2021.

Ariel Fund & Ariel Appreciation Fund, in its Q3 2021 investor letter, mentioned Gentex Corporation (NASDAQ: GNTX) and discussed its stance on the firm. Gentex Corporation is a Zeeland, Michigan-based fire protection company with an $8.0 billion market capitalization. GNTX delivered a 0.03% return since the beginning of the year, while its 12-month returns are up by 1.46%. The stock closed at $33.94 per share on December 14, 2021.

Here is what Ariel Fund & Ariel Appreciation Fund has to say about Gentex Corporation  in its Q3 2021 investor letter:

“During the quarter, we added leading supplier of automatic-dimming mirrors for the automotive industry, Gentex Corporation (GNTX), to Ariel Fund and Ariel Appreciation Fund. With over 90% market share and a long history of technological innovation and manufacturing capability, the company consistently outgrows the broader industry, produces best-in-class operating margins, and generates attractive free cash flows. Recently, the stock has underperformed due to broad-based supply chain concerns and the disruption of global automotive production. We view these worries as overblown and see this as an opportunity to own a high-quality, niche franchise with excellent and improving growth prospects, well-positioned to benefit from growing market adoption of its essential technologies.”

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Based on our calculations, Gentex Corporation (NASDAQ: GNTX) was not able to clinch a spot in our list of the 30 Most Popular Stocks Among Hedge Funds. GNTX was in 27 hedge fund portfolios at the end of the third quarter of 2021, compared to 34 funds in the previous quarter. Gentex Corporation (NASDAQ: GNTX) delivered a 7.30% return in the past 3 months.

Earlier this year, we also shared another hedge fund’s views on GNTX in another article. You can find more than 100 investor letters from hedge funds and prominent investors on our hedge fund investor letters 2021 Q3 page.

Disclosure: None. This article is originally published at Insider Monkey.