Gates Industrial (NYSE:GTES) Hits New 1-Year High After Analyst Upgrade

Gates Industrial Corp PLC (NYSE:GTES) hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Tuesday after Barclays raised their price target on the stock from $16.00 to $21.00. Barclays currently has an equal weight rating on the stock. Gates Industrial traded as high as $20.19 and last traded at $20.08, with a volume of 1194478 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $19.63.

Several other brokerages have also recently issued reports on GTES. Robert W. Baird decreased their target price on shares of Gates Industrial from $26.00 to $22.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Royal Bank of Canada raised shares of Gates Industrial from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $20.00 to $22.00 in a research report on Monday, August 19th. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on shares of Gates Industrial from $15.00 to $16.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research report on Monday, August 19th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective 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. Finally, Morgan Stanley started coverage on shares of Gates Industrial in a research report on Friday, September 6th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $19.00 price objective on the stock. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $20.30.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Wilson S. Neely bought 11,952 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 21st. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $16.80 per share, for a total transaction of $200,793.60. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 6,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $100,800. The trade was 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 at this link. Insiders own 2.30% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Gates Industrial

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Gates Industrial by 20.1% during the third quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,091,408 shares of the company’s stock valued at $19,154,000 after purchasing an additional 182,307 shares in the last quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in Gates Industrial by 35.9% in the third quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,079 shares of the company’s stock valued at $54,000 after acquiring an additional 814 shares in the last quarter. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D boosted its stake in Gates Industrial by 2.8% in the third quarter. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D now owns 110,629 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,942,000 after acquiring an additional 3,061 shares in the last quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. boosted its stake in Gates Industrial by 7.0% in the third quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. now owns 53,079 shares of the company’s stock valued at $931,000 after acquiring an additional 3,459 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Covestor Ltd boosted 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 acquiring an additional 1,001 shares in the last quarter. 98.50% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Gates Industrial Trading Up 3.0 %

The company has a market capitalization of $5.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.36 and a beta of 1.38. The company has a quick ratio of 2.11, a current ratio of 3.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $17.82 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $17.18.

Gates Industrial announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback plan on Wednesday, July 31st that permits the company to repurchase $250.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to repurchase up to 5.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

About Gates Industrial

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.