Gildan Activewear Inc. (NYSE:GIL) Receives Consensus Rating of “Buy” from Analysts

Shares of Gildan Activewear Inc. (NYSE:GIL) (TSE:GIL) have been assigned an average rating of “Buy” from the nine analysts that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating. The average 1 year price objective among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $60.00.

Several equities analysts have issued reports on GIL shares. CIBC lifted their target price on Gildan Activewear from $56.00 to $60.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 20th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on shares of Gildan Activewear from $60.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 20th. TD Securities increased their target price on shares of Gildan Activewear from $62.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 20th. Canaccord Genuity Group lifted their price target on shares of Gildan Activewear from $53.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 20th. Finally, Citigroup increased their price objective on Gildan Activewear from $59.00 to $62.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 20th.

Gildan Activewear Trading Up 0.7 %

NYSE:GIL opened at $45.51 on Tuesday. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $50.59 and a 200-day simple moving average of $48.68. Gildan Activewear has a one year low of $32.23 and a one year high of $55.39. The firm has a market cap of $6.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.20, a P/E/G ratio of 1.76 and a beta of 1.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a current ratio of 2.22.

Gildan Activewear (NYSE:GIL) (TSE:GIL) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 19th. The textile maker reported $0.83 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.13 by ($0.30). Gildan Activewear had a return on equity of 28.80% and a net margin of 12.26%. The company had revenue of $822.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $805.75 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.75 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 5.0% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts anticipate that Gildan Activewear will post 3.48 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Gildan Activewear Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 7th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, March 12th will be given a dividend of $0.226 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, March 12th. This represents a $0.90 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.99%. This is a boost from Gildan Activewear’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.15. Gildan Activewear’s payout ratio is currently 36.00%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC increased its holdings in Gildan Activewear by 16.1% in the 4th quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 5,325 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $251,000 after buying an additional 739 shares during the period. Polar Asset Management Partners Inc. increased its stake in shares of Gildan Activewear by 55.6% in the fourth quarter. Polar Asset Management Partners Inc. now owns 26,450 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $1,244,000 after acquiring an additional 9,450 shares during the period. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio raised its holdings in shares of Gildan Activewear by 262.4% during the fourth quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 45,451 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $2,138,000 after purchasing an additional 32,911 shares during the last quarter. Vident Advisory LLC acquired a new position in Gildan Activewear during the fourth quarter valued at $402,000. Finally, Virtus Investment Advisers Inc. purchased a new stake in Gildan Activewear in the fourth quarter valued at $173,000. 82.83% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Gildan Activewear Company Profile

Gildan Activewear Inc manufactures and sells various apparel products in the United States, North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, and Latin America. It provides various activewear products, including T-shirts, fleece tops and bottoms, and sports shirts under the Gildan, Gildan Performance, Gildan Hammer, Glidan Softstyle, Gildan Heavy Cotton, Gildan Ultra Cotton, Gildan DryBlend, Gildan HeavyBlend, Comfort Colors, and American Apparel brands.