Marathon Asset Management Ltd Trims Holdings in Gildan Activewear, Inc. (NYSE:GIL)

Marathon Asset Management Ltd trimmed its holdings in Gildan Activewear, Inc. (NYSE:GIL - Free Report) TSE: GIL by 2.5% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 907,258 shares of the textile maker's stock after selling 23,161 shares during the quarter. Gildan Activewear makes up approximately 1.2% of Marathon Asset Management Ltd's holdings, making the stock its 29th biggest position. Marathon Asset Management Ltd owned 0.60% of Gildan Activewear worth $40,307,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Plato Investment Management Ltd bought a new position in shares of Gildan Activewear during the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its stake in Gildan Activewear by 510.7% in the 1st quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 745 shares of the textile maker's stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 623 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in Gildan Activewear by 4,323.5% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 752 shares of the textile maker's stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 735 shares in the last quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Gildan Activewear by 500.0% during the 4th quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 894 shares of the textile maker's stock valued at $42,000 after purchasing an additional 745 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. grew its position in shares of Gildan Activewear by 69.3% during the first quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,336 shares of the textile maker's stock valued at $59,000 after purchasing an additional 547 shares in the last quarter. 82.83% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

GIL has been the subject of a number of research reports. TD Securities increased their price target on Gildan Activewear from $56.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Barclays began coverage on Gildan Activewear in a report on Monday, April 28th. They set an "overweight" rating and a $51.00 price objective on the stock. CIBC cut their target price on shares of Gildan Activewear from $60.00 to $56.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Finally, Scotiabank upgraded shares of Gildan Activewear to a "strong-buy" rating and set a $55.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, May 28th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Gildan Activewear has an average rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $57.91.

Gildan Activewear Trading Up 0.5%

NYSE:GIL traded up $0.24 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $49.48. 290,611 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 628,961. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.10, a P/E/G ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.20. The firm's fifty day moving average is $47.31 and its 200-day moving average is $47.59. Gildan Activewear, Inc. has a 12-month low of $37.16 and a 12-month high of $55.39. The company has a current ratio of 3.91, a quick ratio of 1.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.35.

Gildan Activewear (NYSE:GIL - Get Free Report) TSE: GIL last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The textile maker reported $0.59 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.57 by $0.02. Gildan Activewear had a net margin of 12.38% and a return on equity of 30.61%. The business had revenue of $711.70 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $715.29 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.59 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 2.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Gildan Activewear, Inc. will post 3.48 EPS for the current year.

Gildan Activewear Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 16th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 20th were given a dividend of $0.226 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, May 20th. This represents a $0.90 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.83%. Gildan Activewear's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 34.75%.

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.