Gildan Activewear (NYSE:GIL) Upgraded to "Buy" at Wall Street Zen

Key Points

• Gildan Activewear received a significant upgrade from Wall Street Zen, moving from a "hold" to a "buy" rating, as several research analysts increased their price targets for the stock.
• The company's recent earnings report showed an EPS of $0.97, slightly surpassing expectations, with a revenue of $918.5 million reflecting a year-over-year increase of 6.5%.
• Gildan Activewear's stock has a consensus target price of $62.33, with 82.83% of shares owned by institutional investors, indicating strong investor interest.

Gildan Activewear (NYSE:GIL - Get Free Report) TSE: GIL was upgraded by research analysts at Wall Street Zen from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report issued on Saturday.

Other equities analysts also recently issued research reports about the stock. UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of Gildan Activewear from $56.00 to $70.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 29th. National Bankshares boosted their price target on shares of Gildan Activewear from $78.00 to $80.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, August 1st. Cfra Research raised shares of Gildan Activewear to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, August 4th. Royal Bank Of Canada began coverage on shares of Gildan Activewear in a report on Tuesday, August 5th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $61.00 price target for the company. Finally, Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Gildan Activewear from $51.00 to $56.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, August 1st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $62.33.

Gildan Activewear Stock Down 1.4%

Shares of GIL stock traded down $0.73 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $51.58. 381,495 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 544,000. The company has a market capitalization of $7.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.37, a P/E/G ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 1.17. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $49.85 and its 200 day simple moving average is $48.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37, a quick ratio of 1.67 and a current ratio of 3.87. Gildan Activewear has a fifty-two week low of $37.16 and a fifty-two week high of $55.39.

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Janus Henderson Group PLC lifted its holdings in shares of Gildan Activewear by 1.9% during the fourth quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 6,970,246 shares of the textile maker's stock worth $327,950,000 after buying an additional 128,674 shares during the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lifted its holdings in shares of Gildan Activewear by 67.2% during the first quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 2,959,555 shares of the textile maker's stock worth $131,556,000 after buying an additional 1,189,921 shares during the last quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Gildan Activewear by 2.1% during the first quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 2,738,691 shares of the textile maker's stock worth $121,073,000 after buying an additional 56,400 shares during the last quarter. Cardinal Capital Management Inc. lifted its holdings 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 buying an additional 14,065 shares during the last quarter. Finally, The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lifted its holdings in shares of Gildan Activewear by 276.9% during the fourth quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 1,769,634 shares of the textile maker's stock worth $83,394,000 after buying an additional 1,300,121 shares during the last quarter. 82.83% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.