Gildan Activewear Inc. (NYSE:GIL) Sees Significant Decline in Short Interest

Gildan Activewear Inc. (NYSE:GIL) (TSE:GIL) was the target of a significant decline in short interest in the month of November. As of November 15th, there was short interest totalling 2,000,000 shares, a decline of 12.7% from the October 31st total of 2,290,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 599,400 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 3.3 days. Approximately 1.3% of the shares of the company are sold short.

Gildan Activewear Trading Down 0.0 %

GIL traded down $0.02 on Tuesday, hitting $50.09. The company had a trading volume of 511,123 shares, compared to its average volume of 716,609. Gildan Activewear has a 12-month low of $30.68 and a 12-month high of $50.60. The company has a quick ratio of 0.98, a current ratio of 2.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $48.28 and its 200 day simple moving average is $43.24. The company has a market cap of $7.72 billion, a PE ratio of 19.80, a PEG ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 1.40.

Gildan Activewear (NYSE:GIL) (TSE:GIL) last released its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The textile maker reported $0.85 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.85. The firm had revenue of $891.10 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $882.85 million. Gildan Activewear had a return on equity of 26.88% and a net margin of 13.06%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.74 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Gildan Activewear will post 2.97 EPS for the current year.

Gildan Activewear Cuts Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Investors of record on Thursday, November 21st will be paid a dividend of $0.152 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 21st. This represents a $0.61 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.21%. Gildan Activewear’s dividend payout ratio is presently 32.41%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have issued reports on the company. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on Gildan Activewear from $47.00 to $58.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. CIBC upped their price objective on Gildan Activewear from $48.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Canaccord Genuity Group upped their price objective on Gildan Activewear from $52.00 to $53.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on Gildan Activewear from $54.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Finally, TD Securities upped their price objective on Gildan Activewear from $58.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $51.05.

Institutional Trading of Gildan Activewear

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in GIL. Riverview Trust Co purchased a new stake in Gildan Activewear in the 3rd quarter worth about $29,000. Blue Trust Inc. raised its position in Gildan Activewear by 96.1% in the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 810 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 397 shares during the period. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. purchased a new stake in Gildan Activewear in the 2nd quarter worth about $51,000. Tobam purchased a new stake in Gildan Activewear in the 2nd quarter worth about $53,000. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in Gildan Activewear by 16.9% in the 1st quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,893 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $66,000 after purchasing an additional 274 shares during the period. 82.83% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Gildan Activewear

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.