Short Interest in Gates Industrial Corp PLC (NYSE:GTES) Rises By 6.0%

Gates Industrial Corp PLC (NYSE:GTES - Get Free Report) was the target of a large growth in short interest in January. As of January 31st, there was short interest totalling 8,100,000 shares, a growth of 6.0% from the January 15th total of 7,640,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 2,510,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 3.2 days. Approximately 3.4% of the company's stock are short sold.

Gates Industrial Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:GTES traded down $1.03 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $22.29. The company had a trading volume of 2,547,247 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,365,716. The company has a current ratio of 3.20, a quick ratio of 2.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72. The firm has a market cap of $5.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.53 and a beta of 1.37. The company's 50-day moving average price is $21.09 and its 200-day moving average price is $19.64. Gates Industrial has a one year low of $14.14 and a one year high of $23.85.

Gates Industrial (NYSE:GTES - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The company reported $0.33 EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts' consensus estimates of $0.33. Gates Industrial had a net margin of 5.72% and a return on equity of 9.75%. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Gates Industrial will post 1.36 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. HighPoint Advisor Group LLC grew its position in Gates Industrial by 3.2% in the fourth quarter. HighPoint Advisor Group LLC now owns 14,800 shares of the company's stock worth $331,000 after acquiring an additional 452 shares in the last quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in Gates Industrial by 3.6% in the fourth quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 14,468 shares of the company's stock worth $298,000 after acquiring an additional 504 shares in the last quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC grew its position in Gates Industrial by 15.8% in the fourth quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 4,157 shares of the company's stock worth $86,000 after acquiring an additional 567 shares in the last quarter. United Services Automobile Association grew its position in Gates Industrial by 4.8% in the fourth quarter. United Services Automobile Association now owns 14,054 shares of the company's stock worth $289,000 after acquiring an additional 646 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Utah Retirement Systems lifted its stake in Gates Industrial by 6.4% in the fourth quarter. Utah Retirement Systems now owns 11,700 shares of the company's stock worth $241,000 after purchasing an additional 700 shares during the last quarter. 98.50% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. KeyCorp upped their price objective on shares of Gates Industrial from $23.00 to $27.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Citigroup reduced their price objective on shares of Gates Industrial from $27.00 to $24.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Evercore ISI upped their price objective on shares of Gates Industrial from $22.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock an "in-line" rating in a research report on Wednesday. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Gates Industrial from $25.00 to $27.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on shares of Gates Industrial from $21.00 to $24.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued 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 $23.90.

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.