Natixis Advisors LLC Decreases Holdings in Gildan Activewear, Inc. (NYSE:GIL)

Key Points

• Natixis Advisors LLC reduced its stake in Gildan Activewear by 16.7%, owning 423,498 shares valued at approximately $18.7 million after selling 85,202 shares in the first quarter.
• Several institutional investors increased their stakes significantly, with Millennium Management LLC boosting their holdings by 5,996.0% during the fourth quarter.
• Gildan Activewear announced a quarterly dividend of $0.226, representing an annualized dividend yield of 1.8%, with a payout ratio of 28.57%.

Natixis Advisors LLC reduced its stake in shares of Gildan Activewear, Inc. (NYSE:GIL - Free Report) TSE: GIL by 16.7% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 423,498 shares of the textile maker's stock after selling 85,202 shares during the period. Natixis Advisors LLC owned 0.28% of Gildan Activewear worth $18,727,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Olde Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Gildan Activewear during the first quarter valued at $29,000. Versant Capital Management Inc grew its position in Gildan Activewear by 510.7% in the 1st quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 745 shares of the textile maker's stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 623 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in shares of Gildan Activewear by 4,323.5% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 752 shares of the textile maker's stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 735 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. grew its position in shares of Gildan Activewear by 69.3% during the 1st quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,336 shares of the textile maker's stock worth $59,000 after buying an additional 547 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Natixis grew its position in shares of Gildan Activewear by 423.8% during the 4th quarter. Natixis now owns 1,540 shares of the textile maker's stock worth $72,000 after buying an additional 1,246 shares in the last quarter. 82.83% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Gildan Activewear Price Performance

Shares of GIL traded down $0.63 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $52.23. The company had a trading volume of 300,595 shares, compared to its average volume of 643,398. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $49.60 and its 200 day simple moving average is $48.29. The company has a market capitalization of $7.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.58, a P/E/G ratio of 1.68 and a beta of 1.17. Gildan Activewear, Inc. has a 1-year low of $37.16 and a 1-year high of $55.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37, a quick ratio of 1.67 and a current ratio of 3.87.

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

Gildan Activewear Announces Dividend

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. National Bankshares raised their price target on Gildan Activewear from $78.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, August 1st. UBS Group lifted their price objective on Gildan Activewear from $56.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 29th. Royal Bank Of Canada began coverage on Gildan Activewear in a report on Tuesday. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $61.00 target price for the company. TD Securities boosted their price target on shares of Gildan Activewear from $56.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Finally, CIBC upped their target price on shares of Gildan Activewear from $56.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock an "outperformer" rating in a research note on Friday, August 1st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $62.33.

Gildan Activewear 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.