Short Interest in Gates Industrial Corp PLC (NYSE:GTES) Expands By 27.8%

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Gates Industrial

In other Gates Industrial news, Director Wilson S. Neely acquired 11,952 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 21st. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $16.80 per share, for a total transaction of $200,793.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 6,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at $100,800. This represents a -200.81 % 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. 2.30% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Gates Industrial

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in GTES. Venturi Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Gates Industrial by 35.9% during the third quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,079 shares of the company's stock worth $54,000 after purchasing an additional 814 shares during the period. Bank of Montreal Can raised its holdings in shares of Gates Industrial by 2.5% during the second quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 33,800 shares of the company's stock worth $535,000 after acquiring an additional 823 shares in the last quarter. Covestor Ltd grew its stake in Gates Industrial by 26.3% in the third quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 4,812 shares of the company's stock valued at $84,000 after purchasing an additional 1,001 shares in the last quarter. Tectonic Advisors LLC increased its position in Gates Industrial by 5.5% in the 3rd quarter. Tectonic Advisors LLC now owns 20,128 shares of the company's stock worth $353,000 after purchasing an additional 1,043 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fort L.P. raised its stake in shares of Gates Industrial by 9.3% during the 3rd quarter. Fort L.P. now owns 14,423 shares of the company's stock worth $253,000 after purchasing an additional 1,222 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 98.50% of the company's stock.

Gates Industrial Trading Up 0.3 %

GTES traded up $0.07 during trading on Friday, hitting $20.81. 953,334 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,064,899. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $18.31 and a 200 day moving average price of $17.35. Gates Industrial has a 1 year low of $11.22 and a 1 year high of $21.54. The company has a current ratio of 3.02, a quick ratio of 2.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70. The firm has a market cap of $5.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.99 and a beta of 1.38.

Gates Industrial declared that its board has authorized a stock repurchase program on Wednesday, July 31st that permits the company to repurchase $250.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to purchase up to 5.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are typically an indication that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have commented on GTES shares. Barclays increased their price target on shares of Gates Industrial from $16.00 to $21.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Evercore ISI boosted their target price on Gates Industrial from $15.00 to $16.00 and gave the company an "in-line" rating in a report on Monday, August 19th. KeyCorp raised their price target on Gates Industrial from $21.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on Gates Industrial in a research note on Friday, September 6th. They issued an "equal weight" rating and a $19.00 price objective for the company. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on shares of Gates Industrial from $18.00 to $20.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target 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.

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