Gildan Activewear (NYSE:GIL) Sets New 52-Week High After Analyst Upgrade

Key Points

• Gildan Activewear's stock reached a new 52-week high, trading at $55.97 during mid-day, reflecting an increase from a previous close of $49.12.
• Analysts have raised their price targets for Gildan, with new targets set between $59.00 and $80.00, and a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" is suggested.
• The company reported a quarterly EPS of $0.97, beating expectations, with revenues up 6.5% year-over-year totaling $918.50 million.

Gildan Activewear, Inc. (NYSE:GIL - Get Free Report) TSE: GIL's share price reached a new 52-week high on Thursday after Canaccord Genuity Group raised their price target on the stock from $60.00 to $67.00. Canaccord Genuity Group currently has a buy rating on the stock. Gildan Activewear traded as high as $55.97 and last traded at $54.92, with a volume of 4668439 shares. The stock had previously closed at $49.12.

Several other equities analysts have also commented on the company. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their target price on Gildan Activewear from $61.00 to $68.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Gildan Activewear from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, August 9th. TD Securities increased their price objective on shares of Gildan Activewear from $56.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Scotiabank restated an "outperform" rating on shares of Gildan Activewear in a report on Thursday. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of Gildan Activewear in a research note on Thursday. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $64.58.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in GIL. Janus Henderson Group PLC grew its holdings in Gildan Activewear by 1.9% during the 4th quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 6,970,246 shares of the textile maker's stock valued at $327,950,000 after purchasing an additional 128,674 shares in the last quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp grew its stake in shares of Gildan Activewear by 61.9% during the second quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 4,434,020 shares of the textile maker's stock valued at $218,622,000 after acquiring an additional 1,695,329 shares in the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company increased its position in shares of Gildan Activewear by 24.3% during the second quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 3,678,451 shares of the textile maker's stock worth $180,305,000 after acquiring an additional 718,896 shares during the last quarter. Cardinal Capital Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Gildan Activewear by 0.5% during the second quarter. Cardinal Capital Management Inc. now owns 2,728,046 shares of the textile maker's stock worth $134,378,000 after acquiring an additional 14,065 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Gildan Activewear in the second quarter worth about $101,409,000. 82.83% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Gildan Activewear Price Performance

The business has a fifty day moving average of $50.47 and a 200 day moving average of $48.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37, a current ratio of 3.87 and a quick ratio of 1.67. The stock has a market cap of $8.41 billion, a PE ratio of 17.90, a P/E/G ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.17.

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

Gildan Activewear Dividend Announcement

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

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.