Topic: How To Invest

Hi Pat: I am interested in your opinion of Gentex. As always, your excellent advice is much appreciated.

Article Excerpt

Gentex, $19.34, symbol GNTX on Nasdaq (Shares outstanding: 142.8 million; Market cap: $2.8 billion; www.gentex.com), makes auto-dimming car mirrors, including its rear-camera display mirrors and SmartBeam technology. It also produces auto-dimming mirrors for aircraft and a variety of smoke detectors, which account for about 2% of its revenue. Gentex’s automatic-dimming mirrors detect and eliminate glare, making nighttime driving safer. Its mirror-based displays convey information, such as rear-camera images, direction of travel and temperature. The company’s SmartBeam technology includes headlamps equipped with shutters to periodically block the high beams, which are always on, to keep from blinding surrounding drivers. In the three months ended December 31, 2012, Gentex’s revenue was unchanged, at $260.3 million, from a year earlier. Earnings per share were also unchanged, at $0.28. Gentex holds cash of $450.5 million, or $3.15 a share, and has no debt. The company’s near-term outlook is mixed, mainly because continued strong demand in North America has been offset by weakness in Europe—which is…