Cornercap Investment Counsel Inc. Lowers Position in Gates Industrial Corp PLC (NYSE:GTES)

Cornercap Investment Counsel Inc. reduced its position in shares of Gates Industrial Corp PLC (NYSE:GTES) by 54.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 19,252 shares of the company’s stock after selling 22,763 shares during the period. Cornercap Investment Counsel Inc.’s holdings in Gates Industrial were worth $396,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in GTES. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Gates Industrial by 112.9% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 6,523,366 shares of the company’s stock valued at $114,485,000 after buying an additional 3,459,450 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its holdings in shares of Gates Industrial by 1,185.0% in the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 3,363,499 shares of the company’s stock valued at $69,187,000 after purchasing an additional 3,101,738 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Gates Industrial in the fourth quarter valued at about $56,520,000. Zimmer Partners LP boosted its holdings in Gates Industrial by 141.2% during the third quarter. Zimmer Partners LP now owns 4,213,452 shares of the company’s stock worth $73,946,000 after buying an additional 2,466,543 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. grew its position in Gates Industrial by 138.0% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 3,829,155 shares of the company’s stock worth $68,159,000 after buying an additional 2,220,277 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 98.50% of the company’s stock.

Gates Industrial Stock Down 4.4 %

Shares of NYSE GTES opened at $18.48 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $4.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.31 and a beta of 1.33. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a quick ratio of 2.26 and a current ratio of 3.20. Gates Industrial Corp PLC has a 1 year low of $15.14 and a 1 year high of $23.85. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $20.77 and its 200 day moving average price is $20.15.

Gates Industrial (NYSE:GTES) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The company reported $0.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.33. Gates Industrial had a net margin of 5.72% and a return on equity of 9.75%. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Gates Industrial Corp PLC will post 1.36 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Fredrik J. Eliasson acquired 60,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 7th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $19.56 per share, with a total value of $1,173,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 188,452 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,686,121.12. This trade represents a 46.71 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 2.30% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on GTES shares. Citigroup decreased their price target on Gates Industrial from $27.00 to $24.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Barclays lowered their target price on Gates Industrial from $26.00 to $25.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday. KeyCorp lifted their price target on Gates Industrial from $23.00 to $27.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Evercore ISI raised their target price on shares of Gates Industrial from $22.00 to $23.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on shares of Gates Industrial from $23.00 to $26.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, December 6th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $24.00.

Gates Industrial 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.