Gildan Activewear (NYSE:GIL) Upgraded by Stifel Nicolaus to “Buy”

Stifel Nicolaus upgraded shares of Gildan Activewear (NYSE:GIL) (TSE:GIL) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a report issued on Friday morning, MarketBeat reports. Stifel Nicolaus currently has $51.00 price objective on the textile maker’s stock, up from their previous price objective of $39.00.

Several other equities research analysts have also issued reports on the company. Canaccord Genuity Group upped their price target on Gildan Activewear from $42.00 to $43.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research report on Thursday, May 2nd. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an outperform rating and set a $41.00 price target on shares of Gildan Activewear in a research report on Monday, April 8th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group upped their price objective on shares of Gildan Activewear from $42.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a report on Thursday, May 2nd. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $44.50.

Gildan Activewear Stock Down 0.5 %

NYSE GIL traded down $0.20 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $40.42. 311,633 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 759,957. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.70 billion, a PE ratio of 13.60, a PEG ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 1.43. 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 has a 12 month low of $26.99 and a 12 month high of $42.00. The company has a 50 day moving average of $38.61 and a two-hundred day moving average of $36.21.

Gildan Activewear (NYSE:GIL) (TSE:GIL) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The textile maker reported $0.74 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.71 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $862.20 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $851.10 million. Gildan Activewear had a return on equity of 24.62% and a net margin of 13.01%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.63 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts expect that Gildan Activewear will post 2.95 earnings per share for the current year.

Gildan Activewear Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 16th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 22nd will be given a $0.205 dividend. This represents a $0.82 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.03%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 22nd. Gildan Activewear’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 27.70%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Gildan Activewear

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of GIL. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. purchased a new stake in shares of Gildan Activewear during the fourth quarter worth $34,456,000. Strs Ohio lifted its stake in Gildan Activewear by 443.6% in the fourth quarter. Strs Ohio now owns 588,202 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $19,547,000 after acquiring an additional 480,000 shares during the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets lifted its stake in Gildan Activewear by 3,837,975.0% in the fourth quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 153,523 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $5,075,000 after acquiring an additional 153,519 shares during the last quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp grew its position in Gildan Activewear by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 2,712,021 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $89,732,000 after acquiring an additional 29,193 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Gildan Activewear during the 4th quarter worth $70,917,000. 82.83% of the stock is 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.