Gildan Activewear Inc. (NYSE:GIL) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Brokerages

Shares of Gildan Activewear Inc. (NYSE:GIL) (TSE:GIL) have earned a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the thirteen brokerages that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and nine have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 12 month target price among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $41.95.

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $41.00 price target on shares of Gildan Activewear in a research note on Monday, April 8th. Canaccord Genuity Group increased their target price on Gildan Activewear from $42.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 2nd. TD Securities boosted their price target on Gildan Activewear from $42.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 20th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group increased their price objective on shares of Gildan Activewear from $42.00 to $43.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, May 2nd.

Gildan Activewear Trading Up 0.7 %

Shares of NYSE:GIL opened at $37.91 on Friday. Gildan Activewear has a 12-month low of $26.99 and a 12-month high of $39.07. The company has a market cap of $6.39 billion, a PE ratio of 12.81, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.44 and a beta of 1.43. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $36.20 and a 200 day moving average of $34.90. The company has a current ratio of 2.38, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48.

Gildan Activewear (NYSE:GIL) (TSE:GIL) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 1st. The textile maker reported $0.59 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.52 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $695.80 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $692.94 million. Gildan Activewear had a net margin of 16.14% and a return on equity of 24.00%. The company’s revenue was down 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.45 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Gildan Activewear will post 2.92 EPS for the current year.

Gildan Activewear Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 17th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 23rd were issued a $0.205 dividend. This represents a $0.82 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.16%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, May 22nd. Gildan Activewear’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 27.70%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Gildan Activewear

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of GIL. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Gildan Activewear during the fourth quarter worth approximately $70,917,000. Browning West LP increased its position in shares of Gildan Activewear by 30.0% during the 4th quarter. Browning West LP now owns 8,640,448 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $285,653,000 after purchasing an additional 1,994,900 shares during the last quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. purchased a new stake in Gildan Activewear during the 4th quarter valued at $34,456,000. National Bank of Canada FI lifted its position in Gildan Activewear by 43.8% in the first quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 1,762,761 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $65,451,000 after buying an additional 537,215 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Strs Ohio lifted its position in Gildan Activewear by 443.6% in the fourth quarter. Strs Ohio now owns 588,202 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $19,547,000 after buying an additional 480,000 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.83% of the company’s stock.

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.