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 December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totalling 6,070,000 shares, a growth of 8.4% from the December 15th total of 5,600,000 shares. Approximately 2.5% of the company’s shares are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 2,820,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.2 days.

Gates Industrial Stock Performance

Shares of GTES opened at $20.49 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a quick ratio of 2.11 and a current ratio of 3.02. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $21.20 and a two-hundred day moving average of $18.82. The stock has a market cap of $5.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.68 and a beta of 1.38. Gates Industrial has a one year low of $12.40 and a one year high of $23.34.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have issued reports on GTES. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on Gates Industrial from $21.00 to $24.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on shares of Gates Industrial from $23.00 to $26.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, December 6th. Barclays upgraded shares of Gates Industrial from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $21.00 to $25.00 in a report on Thursday, December 5th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on shares of Gates Industrial from $22.00 to $26.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, KeyCorp boosted their price target on Gates Industrial from $22.00 to $23.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, November 21st. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Gates Industrial has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $22.50.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Gates Industrial

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its position in Gates Industrial by 178.3% during the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 2,494 shares of the company’s stock valued at $51,000 after purchasing an additional 1,598 shares during the period. Venturi Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Gates Industrial by 35.9% during the 3rd quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,079 shares of the company’s stock valued at $54,000 after buying an additional 814 shares during the last quarter. Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new position in shares of Gates Industrial in the 3rd quarter valued at about $67,000. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in Gates Industrial by 333.9% during the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 3,896 shares of the company’s stock worth $68,000 after acquiring an additional 2,998 shares during the period. Finally, Quarry LP purchased a new position in Gates Industrial during the third quarter valued at approximately $71,000. 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.