Gates Industrial (NYSE:GTES) Sets New 12-Month High on Analyst Upgrade

Gates Industrial Corp PLC (NYSE:GTES)’s stock price reached a new 52-week high during trading on Friday after KeyCorp raised their price target on the stock from $22.00 to $23.00. KeyCorp currently has an overweight rating on the stock. Gates Industrial traded as high as $21.85 and last traded at $21.84, with a volume of 372725 shares. The stock had previously closed at $21.39.

A number of other research analysts have also weighed in on the company. Evercore ISI raised their price objective on Gates Industrial from $15.00 to $16.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research report on Monday, August 19th. Robert W. Baird lowered their price target on Gates Industrial from $26.00 to $22.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Gates Industrial from $16.00 to $21.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on shares of Gates Industrial from $18.00 to $20.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Finally, Morgan Stanley started coverage on shares of Gates Industrial in a report on Friday, September 6th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $19.00 price target on the stock. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Gates Industrial presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $20.40.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in GTES. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp increased its position in shares of Gates Industrial by 31.8% during the 1st quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp now owns 21,660 shares of the company’s stock valued at $384,000 after purchasing an additional 5,223 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in Gates Industrial by 17.5% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 18,008,743 shares of the company’s stock valued at $318,935,000 after acquiring an additional 2,678,954 shares during the last quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Gates Industrial by 799.6% in the first quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 33,070 shares of the company’s stock valued at $585,000 after acquiring an additional 29,394 shares during the period. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL bought a new stake in shares of Gates Industrial in the 1st quarter worth about $266,000. Finally, Quadrature Capital Ltd boosted its stake in shares of Gates Industrial by 35.6% during the 1st quarter. Quadrature Capital Ltd now owns 78,457 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,389,000 after purchasing an additional 20,615 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 98.50% of the company’s stock.

Gates Industrial Price Performance

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 company has a market capitalization of $5.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.47 and a beta of 1.38. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $18.77 and its 200 day moving average is $17.50.

Gates Industrial declared that its board has approved a stock repurchase program on Wednesday, July 31st that permits the company to buyback $250.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to purchase up to 5.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are generally a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

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.