Gates Industrial Corp PLC (NYSE:GTES) Sees Significant Increase in Short Interest

Gates Industrial Corp PLC (NYSE:GTES) saw a large growth in short interest during the month of October. As of October 31st, there was short interest totalling 11,260,000 shares, a growth of 27.8% from the October 15th total of 8,810,000 shares. Approximately 4.8% of the company’s shares are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 2,970,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 3.8 days.

Insider Buying and Selling at Gates Industrial

In other Gates Industrial news, Director Wilson S. Neely acquired 11,952 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 21st. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $16.80 per share, for a total transaction of $200,793.60. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 6,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $100,800. The trade was a -200.81 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 2.30% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Gates Industrial

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in GTES. Headlands Technologies LLC raised its holdings in Gates Industrial by 341.1% in the second quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC now owns 1,707 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 1,320 shares in the last quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of Gates Industrial by 35.9% in the 3rd quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,079 shares of the company’s stock valued at $54,000 after purchasing an additional 814 shares during the last quarter. Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new stake in shares of Gates Industrial in the 3rd quarter valued at $67,000. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its position in shares of Gates Industrial by 333.9% during the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 3,896 shares of the company’s stock worth $68,000 after purchasing an additional 2,998 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Quarry LP acquired a new position in shares of Gates Industrial during the third quarter worth $71,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.50% of the company’s stock.

Gates Industrial Stock Up 0.2 %

Gates Industrial stock opened at $20.78 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.29 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.04 and a beta of 1.38. The company has a current ratio of 3.02, a quick ratio of 2.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70. Gates Industrial has a twelve month low of $11.22 and a twelve month high of $21.54. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $18.40 and its 200-day simple moving average is $17.37.

Gates Industrial announced that its board has initiated a share repurchase plan on Wednesday, July 31st that authorizes the company to repurchase $250.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to buy up to 5.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are generally a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently commented on GTES. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on Gates Industrial from $18.00 to $20.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. KeyCorp increased their target price on shares of Gates Industrial from $21.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Evercore ISI boosted their price target on shares of Gates Industrial from $15.00 to $16.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research note on Monday, August 19th. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Gates Industrial from $16.00 to $21.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Finally, Robert W. Baird cut their target price on Gates Industrial from $26.00 to $22.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $20.30.

Gates Industrial Company Profile

Gates Industrial Corporation PLC designs and manufactures power transmission equipment. Its products serves harsh and hazardous industries such as agriculture, construction, manufacturing and energy, to everyday consumer applications such as printers, power washers, automatic doors and vacuum cleaners and virtually every form of transportation.