Gildan Activewear (NYSE:GIL) Sees Unusually-High Trading Volume - Here's What Happened

Key Points

• Gildan Activewear saw unusually heavy trading volume, with about 1.59 million shares changing hands, and the stock rose 5.4% to around $52.91.
• The stock has been volatile after a short-seller report that triggered allegations about growth and prompted multiple law firms to launch investigations into possible securities law violations.
• Despite the controversy, analysts remain broadly constructive: several firms kept buy/outperform ratings, and the consensus price target is about $79.23.

Gildan Activewear, Inc. (NYSE:GIL - Get Free Report) TSE: GIL shares saw unusually-strong trading volume on Wednesday . Approximately 1,594,666 shares changed hands during trading, an increase of 17% from the previous session's volume of 1,361,015 shares.The stock last traded at $52.9090 and had previously closed at $50.34.

Key Gildan Activewear News

Here are the key news stories impacting Gildan Activewear this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Gildan issued a statement saying it is confident its current disclosures are accurate and comprehensive, including its financial information and governance practices, which may help reassure investors after the short-seller allegations. Gildan Activewear Issues Statement Regarding Recent Short Seller Report
• Neutral Sentiment: Several firms, including Johnson Fistel, Block & Leviton, BFA Law, Rosen Law Firm, Ademi LLP, and Frank R. Cruz, announced investigations into possible securities law violations following the short-seller report. These announcements reflect litigation risk and uncertainty, but do not by themselves confirm wrongdoing. Gildan Activewear (GIL) Investor Alert: Johnson Fistel Investigates Following Short-Seller Report
• Neutral Sentiment: Market commentary noted the stock had fallen as much as 25% on the short-seller growth accusations, underscoring that investor sentiment remains highly sensitive to the allegations. Gildan share price drops as much as 25% on short seller growth accusations

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of Gildan Activewear in a research report on Wednesday. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $77.00 price objective on shares of Gildan Activewear in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Scotiabank reissued a "sector outperform" rating and issued a $65.00 price objective (down from $72.00) on shares of Gildan Activewear in a research report on Wednesday. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Gildan Activewear from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "hold (c)" rating in a research report on Monday, May 18th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on shares of Gildan Activewear from $75.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, February 23rd. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Gildan Activewear presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $79.23.

Gildan Activewear Stock Up 5.4%

The firm has a market capitalization of $9.82 billion, a PE ratio of 31.25 and a beta of 1.08. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $58.28 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $61.53. The company has a quick ratio of 1.17, a current ratio of 2.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32.

Gildan Activewear (NYSE:GIL - Get Free Report) TSE: GIL last announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The textile maker reported $0.43 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.36 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $1.17 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.14 billion. Gildan Activewear had a net margin of 6.10% and a return on equity of 21.38%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 63.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.59 earnings per share. Gildan Activewear has set its FY 2026 guidance at 4.200-4.400 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that Gildan Activewear, Inc. will post 4.25 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Gildan Activewear Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 15th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 20th were paid a dividend of $0.249 per share. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.9%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, May 20th. Gildan Activewear's dividend payout ratio is 58.82%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in GIL. Caisse de depot et placement du Quebec boosted its stake in Gildan Activewear by 1,695.7% during the 4th quarter. Caisse de depot et placement du Quebec now owns 6,240,014 shares of the textile maker's stock valued at $390,539,000 after acquiring an additional 5,892,514 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in Gildan Activewear during the 4th quarter valued at $151,018,000. Mackenzie Financial Corp boosted its stake in Gildan Activewear by 41.2% during the 4th quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 6,860,108 shares of the textile maker's stock valued at $429,382,000 after acquiring an additional 2,001,279 shares during the last quarter. Brandes Investment Partners LP bought a new position in Gildan Activewear during the 4th quarter valued at $99,870,000. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in Gildan Activewear by 26.0% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 7,566,962 shares of the textile maker's stock valued at $472,964,000 after acquiring an additional 1,561,729 shares during the last quarter. 82.83% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Gildan Activewear Company Profile

Gildan Activewear Inc NYSE: GIL is a vertically integrated manufacturer and wholesaler of branded basic apparel, including activewear, socks, hosiery and underwear. Headquartered in Montreal, Quebec, the company produces a wide range of products such as T-shirts, fleece garments, sport shirts, performance wear, and shapewear under its Gildan, Anvil, Comfort Colors, Gold Toe, Peds and Silks brands. Leveraging its in-house knitting, dyeing, cut-and-sew and finishing operations, Gildan supplies blank apparel to screen printers, promotional product distributors and major retailers around the world.

Since its founding in 1984 by Glenn J.

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