Comparing Gentex (NASDAQ:GNTX) & Holley (NYSE:HLLY)

Holley (NYSE:HLLY) and Gentex (NASDAQ:GNTX) are both auto/tires/trucks companies, but which is the better business? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their risk, valuation, profitability, earnings, analyst recommendations, institutional ownership and dividends.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

39.7% of Holley shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 86.8% of Gentex shares are held by institutional investors. 0.9% of Holley shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 0.4% of Gentex shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Volatility & Risk

Holley has a beta of 1.47, indicating that its share price is 47% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Gentex has a beta of 0.93, indicating that its share price is 7% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Holley and Gentex’s revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Holley	$659.70 million	0.70	$19.18 million	$0.16	24.06
Gentex	$2.30 billion	3.15	$428.40 million	$1.89	16.59

Gentex has higher revenue and earnings than Holley. Gentex is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Holley, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Profitability

This table compares Holley and Gentex’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Holley	2.89%	4.32%	1.56%
Gentex	17.87%	17.78%	15.66%

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of current recommendations for Holley and Gentex, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Holley	0	1	7	0	2.88
Gentex	0	2	3	0	2.60

Holley presently has a consensus target price of $7.47, indicating a potential upside of 94.08%. Gentex has a consensus target price of $38.00, indicating a potential upside of 21.21%. Given Holley’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe Holley is more favorable than Gentex.

Summary

Gentex beats Holley on 8 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Holley

Holley Inc. operates as designer, manufacturer, and marketer of automotive aftermarket products for car and truck enthusiasts in the United States, Canada, Europe, and China. Its products span various automotive platforms and sells across multiple channels. The company's performance automotive products include carburetors, fuel pumps, fuel injection systems, nitrous oxide injection systems, superchargers, exhaust headers, mufflers, distributors, ignition components, engine tuners, automotive performance plumbing products; and exhaust products, as well as shifters, converters, transmission kits, transmissions, tuners, and automotive software. It also offers brakes and brake systems, vehicle restoration parts, helmets, head and neck restraints, seat belts, fire suits, and electronic control and monitoring systems. The company sells its products under the Holley, Holley EFI, MSD, Simpson, Powerteq, Accel, and Flowmaster through DTC, E-tailer, warehouse distributor, traditional retailer, and jobber/ installer channels. Holley Inc. was founded in 1903 and is headquartered in Bowling Green, Kentucky.

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. It also provides variable dimmable windows to aircraft manufacturers and airline operators. In addition, the company offers photoelectric smoke detectors and alarms, electrochemical carbon monoxide alarms and detectors, audible and visual signaling alarms, and bells and speakers used in fire detection systems in office buildings, hotels, and other commercial and residential buildings, as well as researches and develops nanofiber chemical sensing products. It sells its fire protection products directly, as well as through sales managers and manufacturer representative organizations to fire protection and security product distributors, electrical wholesale houses, and original equipment manufacturers of fire protection systems. Gentex Corporation was incorporated in 1974 and is headquartered in Zeeland, Michigan.