Gates Industrial Corp PLC (NYSE:GTES) Short Interest Up 7.3% in March

Gates Industrial Corp PLC (NYSE:GTES) was the recipient of a large growth in short interest in the month of March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totalling 7,780,000 shares, a growth of 7.3% from the March 15th total of 7,250,000 shares. Approximately 4.1% of the company’s shares are sold short. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 3,000,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.6 days.

Gates Industrial Stock Performance

GTES traded up $0.04 on Wednesday, hitting $17.34. 1,673,143 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,689,459. The company has a 50 day moving average of $15.88 and a 200-day moving average of $13.52. The company has a quick ratio of 2.25, a current ratio of 3.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.58 billion, a PE ratio of 20.40 and a beta of 1.57. Gates Industrial has a 12-month low of $10.68 and a 12-month high of $17.86.

Gates Industrial (NYSE:GTES) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 8th. The company reported $0.37 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.27 by $0.10. The business had revenue of $863.30 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $892.40 million. Gates Industrial had a return on equity of 10.14% and a net margin of 6.52%. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Gates Industrial will post 1.32 earnings per share for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have weighed in on GTES. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on Gates Industrial from $16.00 to $18.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday. TheStreet raised Gates Industrial from a “c+” rating to a “b-” rating in a research report on Monday, January 8th. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on Gates Industrial in a research report on Thursday, February 29th. They set a “buy” rating and a $21.00 price objective for the company. Evercore ISI upped their price objective on Gates Industrial from $12.50 to $14.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 20th. Finally, Wolfe Research raised Gates Industrial from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $20.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Friday, March 8th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $18.00.

Insider Activity at Gates Industrial

In related news, major shareholder Blackstone Inc. sold 24,276,100 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $12.04, for a total value of $292,284,244.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 107,324 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,292,180.96. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In related news, CEO Ivo Jurek purchased 20,492 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 16th. The shares were bought at an average price of $12.20 per share, for a total transaction of $250,002.40. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer now directly owns 626,088 shares in the company, valued at $7,638,273.60. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, major shareholder Blackstone Inc. sold 24,276,100 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $12.04, for a total value of $292,284,244.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 107,324 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,292,180.96. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have bought 1,030,492 shares of company stock worth $12,582,402. 2.30% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Gates Industrial

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Raymond James & Associates boosted its holdings in shares of Gates Industrial by 4.6% during the first quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 269,329 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,056,000 after purchasing an additional 11,792 shares during the last quarter. US Bancorp DE boosted its holdings in shares of Gates Industrial by 8.9% during the first quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 36,855 shares of the company’s stock worth $556,000 after purchasing an additional 3,003 shares during the last quarter. Citigroup Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Gates Industrial by 2,781.5% during the first quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 231,070 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,480,000 after purchasing an additional 223,051 shares during the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Gates Industrial by 221.3% in the first quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 12,072 shares of the company’s stock valued at $182,000 after acquiring an additional 8,315 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Natixis Advisors L.P. boosted its holdings in Gates Industrial by 2.3% in the first quarter. Natixis Advisors L.P. now owns 80,101 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,206,000 after acquiring an additional 1,793 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.