Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ Acquires 9,204 Shares of Gildan Activewear, Inc. (NYSE:GIL)

Key Points

• Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ increased its stake in Gildan Activewear by 33.6% during the first quarter, resulting in ownership of 36,605 shares valued at approximately $1.62 million.
• Gildan Activewear reported a quarterly earnings per share (EPS) of $0.59, exceeding analysts' expectations of $0.57, with revenue reaching $711.7 million, up 2.3% year-over-year.
• Multiple research analysts have issued positive ratings on Gildan Activewear, with a consensus target price of $58.00 and nine analysts rating the stock as a "buy."

Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ grew its stake in shares of Gildan Activewear, Inc. (NYSE:GIL - Free Report) TSE: GIL by 33.6% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 36,605 shares of the textile maker's stock after purchasing an additional 9,204 shares during the quarter. Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ's holdings in Gildan Activewear were worth $1,619,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of GIL. American Century Companies Inc. raised its stake in shares of Gildan Activewear by 13.8% in the 4th quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 163,967 shares of the textile maker's stock valued at $7,717,000 after purchasing an additional 19,877 shares in the last quarter. LPL Financial LLC boosted its position in Gildan Activewear by 65.4% during the 4th quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 56,419 shares of the textile maker's stock worth $2,655,000 after acquiring an additional 22,313 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its holdings in Gildan Activewear by 40.7% in the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 814,127 shares of the textile maker's stock worth $38,305,000 after purchasing an additional 235,405 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Gildan Activewear in the fourth quarter worth about $97,275,000. Finally, Pictet Asset Management Holding SA grew its holdings in Gildan Activewear by 6.9% during the fourth quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 78,548 shares of the textile maker's stock worth $3,695,000 after acquiring an additional 5,089 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.83% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. CIBC upped their target price on Gildan Activewear from $56.00 to $60.00 and gave the company an "outperformer" rating in a report on Friday. UBS Group upped their target price on Gildan Activewear from $56.00 to $70.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 29th. TD Securities upped their target price on Gildan Activewear from $56.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. National Bankshares lifted their price target on Gildan Activewear from $78.00 to $80.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday. Finally, Barclays increased their price objective on Gildan Activewear from $51.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat.com, Gildan Activewear currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $62.45.

Gildan Activewear Stock Performance

Gildan Activewear stock traded up $0.62 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $51.13. The company had a trading volume of 781,511 shares, compared to its average volume of 506,649. The company has a quick ratio of 1.59, a current ratio of 3.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.35. Gildan Activewear, Inc. has a 52 week low of $37.16 and a 52 week high of $55.39. The company has a 50 day moving average of $49.48 and a 200-day moving average of $48.25. The firm has a market cap of $7.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.23, a PEG ratio of 1.64 and a beta of 1.17.

Gildan Activewear (NYSE:GIL - Get Free Report) TSE: GIL last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The textile maker reported $0.97 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.96 by $0.01. Gildan Activewear had a net margin of 14.55% and a return on equity of 34.00%. The firm had revenue of $918.50 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $908.41 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.74 EPS. The business's revenue was up 6.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Gildan Activewear, Inc. will post 3.48 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Gildan Activewear Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 21st will be issued a $0.226 dividend. 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 1.8%. Gildan Activewear's dividend payout ratio is 28.57%.

Gildan Activewear Company 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.