Gates Industrial Corp PLC (NYSE:GTES) Short Interest Up 11.7% in September

Gates Industrial Corp PLC (NYSE:GTES) was the target of a significant increase in short interest in the month of September. As of September 30th, there was short interest totalling 8,690,000 shares, an increase of 11.7% from the September 15th total of 7,780,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 3,460,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.5 days. Currently, 3.4% of the shares of the company are short sold.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently issued reports on GTES shares. Robert W. Baird cut their price objective on Gates Industrial from $26.00 to $22.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Evercore ISI raised their price objective on Gates Industrial from $15.00 to $16.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research note on Monday, August 19th. Royal Bank of Canada raised shares of Gates Industrial from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $20.00 to $22.00 in a research report on Monday, August 19th. Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on Gates Industrial in a report on Friday, September 6th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $19.00 price target for the company. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on shares of Gates Industrial from $18.00 to $20.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $19.40.

Gates Industrial Trading Up 0.3 %

Shares of GTES stock traded up $0.05 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $18.24. 150,979 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,973,642. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $17.32 and a 200 day moving average price of $17.03. Gates Industrial has a 1-year low of $10.68 and a 1-year high of $19.07. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.77 billion, a PE ratio of 19.99 and a beta of 1.40. The company has a quick ratio of 2.20, a current ratio of 3.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68.

Gates Industrial (NYSE:GTES) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 31st. The company reported $0.34 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.33 by $0.01. Gates Industrial had a return on equity of 10.27% and a net margin of 7.24%. The business had revenue of $885.50 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $893.00 million. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Gates Industrial will post 1.24 EPS for the current year.

Gates Industrial announced that its board has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Wednesday, July 31st that allows the company to repurchase $250.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to repurchase up to 5.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are typically a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Transactions at Gates Industrial

In related news, Director Wilson S. Neely acquired 11,952 shares of Gates Industrial stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 21st. The stock was purchased at an average price of $16.80 per share, for a total transaction of $200,793.60. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 6,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $100,800. This trade represents a -200.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Company insiders own 2.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Gates Industrial

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC raised its stake in Gates Industrial by 10.1% during the third quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC now owns 174,417 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,061,000 after acquiring an additional 15,968 shares in the last quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC raised its stake in shares of Gates Industrial by 4.1% in the third quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 91,020 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,597,000 after acquiring an additional 3,547 shares during the last quarter. CWM LLC grew its position in Gates Industrial by 45.1% during the 3rd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 57,192 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,004,000 after acquiring an additional 17,785 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in Gates Industrial by 333.9% in the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 3,896 shares of the company’s stock worth $68,000 after purchasing an additional 2,998 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Handelsbanken Fonder AB lifted its position in Gates Industrial by 5.9% during the 3rd quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 1,242,600 shares of the company’s stock worth $21,808,000 after buying an additional 69,200 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 98.50% of the company’s stock.

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.