Gildan Activewear (NYSE:GIL) Shares Gap Up - Should You Buy?

Key Points

• Gildan Activewear's stock price jumped from $49.12 to $52.13 before trading at $54.87, reflecting a strong market response.
• Analysts have raised their price targets significantly, with some projecting a target of up to $80, and the stock receiving multiple "buy" ratings.
• The company reported a quarterly EPS of $0.97, exceeding estimates, with revenues of $918.50 million, showing a 6.5% increase year-over-year.

Gildan Activewear, Inc. (NYSE:GIL - Get Free Report) TSE: GIL's share price gapped up prior to trading on Wednesday . The stock had previously closed at $49.12, but opened at $52.13. Gildan Activewear shares last traded at $54.87, with a volume of 906,975 shares changing hands.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

GIL has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. UBS Group lifted 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. Cfra Research upgraded Gildan Activewear to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, August 4th. BMO Capital Markets reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of Gildan Activewear in a report on Thursday. CIBC lifted their target price on Gildan Activewear from $56.00 to $60.00 and gave the company an "outperformer" rating in a report on Friday, August 1st. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on Gildan Activewear from $65.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $64.58.

Gildan Activewear Stock Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $8.44 billion, a PE ratio of 17.95, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.17. 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 50-day moving average price of $50.47 and a 200-day moving average price of $48.37.

Gildan Activewear (NYSE:GIL - Get Free Report) TSE: GIL last announced its earnings results 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. Gildan Activewear had a return on equity of 34.31% and a net margin of 14.55%. The business had revenue of $918.50 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $908.41 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.74 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 6.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts expect that Gildan Activewear, Inc. will post 3.48 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Gildan Activewear Announces Dividend

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%.

Institutional Trading of Gildan Activewear

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of GIL. Maseco LLP bought a new stake in Gildan Activewear in the second quarter valued at about $26,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Gildan Activewear by 161.8% during the second quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 555 shares of the textile maker's stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 343 shares during the period. Olde Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Gildan Activewear during the first quarter worth approximately $29,000. Twin Tree Management LP acquired a new position in shares of Gildan Activewear during the first quarter worth approximately $29,000. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its position in shares of Gildan Activewear by 510.7% during the first quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 745 shares of the textile maker's stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 623 shares during the period. 82.83% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.