Bank of Nova Scotia Trust Co. Cuts Stock Holdings in Gildan Activewear, Inc. (NYSE:GIL)

Key Points

• Bank of Nova Scotia Trust Co. reduced its holdings in Gildan Activewear, Inc. by 39.7%, selling 5,451 shares to end the first quarter with 8,292 shares valued at $367,000.
• Several institutional investors have recently shifted their positions in Gildan, with Janus Henderson Group PLC boosting its stake by 1.9% and Mackenzie Financial Corp increasing theirs by 2.1% in the latest quarter.
• Analysts have raised their price targets for Gildan, with TD Securities and CIBC increasing theirs to $60.00, reflecting a strong "buy" sentiment and an average price target of $62.45 among ten equities research analysts.

Bank of Nova Scotia Trust Co. trimmed its position in shares of Gildan Activewear, Inc. (NYSE:GIL - Free Report) TSE: GIL by 39.7% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 8,292 shares of the textile maker's stock after selling 5,451 shares during the quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia Trust Co.'s holdings in Gildan Activewear were worth $367,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Bank of Nova Scotia grew its stake in shares of Gildan Activewear by 4.3% during the 1st quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 463,591 shares of the textile maker's stock worth $20,498,000 after purchasing an additional 19,281 shares during the period. Forge First Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Gildan Activewear by 713.7% in the 1st quarter. Forge First Asset Management Inc. now owns 379,200 shares of the textile maker's stock valued at $16,781,000 after buying an additional 332,600 shares during the period. Cumberland Partners Ltd lifted its stake in Gildan Activewear by 20.4% in the first quarter. Cumberland Partners Ltd now owns 5,900 shares of the textile maker's stock valued at $261,000 after buying an additional 1,000 shares during the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Gildan Activewear by 173.6% in the first quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 12,259 shares of the textile maker's stock valued at $542,000 after purchasing an additional 7,778 shares during the period. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Gildan Activewear in the first quarter valued at $246,000. 82.83% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Gildan Activewear Stock Performance

Shares of Gildan Activewear stock traded up $0.49 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $52.57. 113,394 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 642,942. Gildan Activewear, Inc. has a 12 month low of $37.16 and a 12 month high of $55.39. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $49.54 and a 200 day simple moving average of $48.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37, a quick ratio of 1.67 and a current ratio of 3.87. The company has a market capitalization of $7.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.70, a P/E/G ratio of 1.64 and a beta of 1.17.

Gildan Activewear (NYSE:GIL - Get Free Report) TSE: GIL last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The textile maker reported $0.97 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.96 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $918.50 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $908.41 million. Gildan Activewear had a net margin of 14.55% and a return on equity of 34.31%. Gildan Activewear's revenue was up 6.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.74 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Gildan Activewear, Inc. will post 3.48 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Gildan Activewear Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 21st will be issued a dividend of $0.226 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 21st. This represents a $0.90 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.7%. Gildan Activewear's payout ratio is presently 28.57%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on GIL shares. UBS Group raised their price objective on Gildan Activewear from $56.00 to $70.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 29th. National Bankshares upped their price objective on Gildan Activewear from $78.00 to $80.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday. Scotiabank increased their price objective on Gildan Activewear from $55.00 to $59.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday. Barclays increased their price objective on Gildan Activewear from $51.00 to $56.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday. Finally, CIBC increased their price objective on Gildan Activewear from $56.00 to $60.00 and gave the company an "outperformer" rating in a research report on Friday. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $62.33.

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.