Gildan Activewear, Inc. (NYSE:GIL) Short Interest Update

Key Points

• Gildan Activewear saw a **55.8% increase** in short interest, totaling **5,080,000 shares** as of August 31st, indicating heightened investor skepticism about the stock.
• Despite the increase in short interest, the stock has received mostly positive ratings from analysts, with a **consensus rating of "Moderate Buy"** and a price target of **$64.58**.
• Gildan Activewear announced a **quarterly dividend** of **$0.226 per share**, representing an annualized dividend yield of **1.6%** and a payout ratio of **28.57%**.

Gildan Activewear, Inc. (NYSE:GIL - Get Free Report) TSE: GIL was the recipient of a significant growth in short interest in the month of August. As of August 31st, there was short interest totaling 5,080,000 shares, a growth of 55.8% from the August 15th total of 3,260,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 922,200 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 5.5 days. Approximately 3.5% of the shares of the company are short sold. Approximately 3.5% of the shares of the company are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 922,200 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 5.5 days.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Gildan Activewear

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in GIL. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Gildan Activewear in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $101,409,000. Mackenzie Financial Corp raised its holdings in Gildan Activewear by 61.9% in the 2nd quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 4,434,020 shares of the textile maker's stock worth $218,622,000 after acquiring an additional 1,695,329 shares during the last quarter. Picton Mahoney Asset Management purchased a new position in Gildan Activewear in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $65,409,000. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company raised its holdings in Gildan Activewear by 67.2% in the 1st quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 2,959,555 shares of the textile maker's stock worth $131,556,000 after acquiring an additional 1,189,921 shares during the last quarter. Finally, The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company raised its stake in Gildan Activewear by 24.3% during the 2nd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 3,678,451 shares of the textile maker's stock valued at $180,305,000 after buying an additional 718,896 shares during the last quarter. 82.83% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Gildan Activewear Stock Up 3.3%

Shares of GIL stock traded up $1.78 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $56.20. 1,856,155 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 821,269. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $53.53 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $48.85. Gildan Activewear has a 12-month low of $37.16 and a 12-month high of $57.76. The stock has a market cap of $8.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.84, a PEG ratio of 1.75 and a beta of 1.17. The company has a quick ratio of 1.67, a current ratio of 3.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37.

Gildan Activewear (NYSE:GIL - Get Free Report) TSE: GIL last released its earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The textile maker reported $0.97 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.96 by $0.01. Gildan Activewear had a net margin of 14.55% and a return on equity of 34.31%. The firm had revenue of $918.50 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $908.41 million. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.74 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 6.5% on a year-over-year basis. Gildan Activewear has set its FY 2025 guidance at 3.400-3.560 EPS. On average, analysts expect that Gildan Activewear will post 3.48 EPS for the current year.

Gildan Activewear Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 21st were issued a $0.226 dividend. This represents a $0.90 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.6%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, August 21st. Gildan Activewear's payout ratio is presently 28.57%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

GIL has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. UBS Group increased 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. CIBC increased their price objective on Gildan Activewear from $56.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock an "outperformer" rating in a research report on Friday, August 1st. Barclays increased their price objective on Gildan Activewear from $51.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, August 1st. Wall Street Zen downgraded Gildan Activewear from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, September 6th. Finally, Scotiabank reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of Gildan Activewear in a research report on Thursday, August 14th. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $64.58.

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.