Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. Makes New Investment in Gildan Activewear, Inc. (NYSE:GIL)

Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. bought a new position in Gildan Activewear, Inc. (NYSE:GIL - Free Report) TSE: GIL during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund bought 23,834 shares of the textile maker's stock, valued at approximately $1,072,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of GIL. Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its position in Gildan Activewear by 510.7% in the first quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 745 shares of the textile maker's stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 623 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position in Gildan Activewear by 4,323.5% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 752 shares of the textile maker's stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 735 shares during the last quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC increased its holdings in Gildan Activewear by 500.0% during the fourth quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 894 shares of the textile maker's stock worth $42,000 after buying an additional 745 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. increased its holdings in Gildan Activewear by 69.3% during the first quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,336 shares of the textile maker's stock worth $59,000 after buying an additional 547 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Rhumbline Advisers increased its holdings in Gildan Activewear by 561.9% during the fourth quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 1,423 shares of the textile maker's stock worth $67,000 after buying an additional 1,208 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.83% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have weighed in on GIL shares. Barclays started coverage on shares of Gildan Activewear in a research note on Monday, April 28th. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $51.00 target price on the stock. Scotiabank upgraded shares of Gildan Activewear to a "strong-buy" rating and set a $55.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, May 28th. TD Securities boosted their target price on shares of Gildan Activewear from $56.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Finally, CIBC dropped their price target on Gildan Activewear from $60.00 to $56.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $57.91.

Gildan Activewear Stock Performance

Gildan Activewear stock traded up $0.69 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $50.84. The company's stock had a trading volume of 454,003 shares, compared to its average volume of 629,822. Gildan Activewear, Inc. has a 12-month low of $37.16 and a 12-month high of $55.39. The company has a market capitalization of $7.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.63, a PEG ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 1.19. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.35, a quick ratio of 1.59 and a current ratio of 3.91. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $47.95 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $47.65.

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

Gildan Activewear Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 16th. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 20th were issued a dividend of $0.226 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, May 20th. This represents a $0.90 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.78%. Gildan Activewear's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 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.