Gildan Activewear (NYSE:GIL) Upgraded to Strong-Buy at Scotiabank

Gildan Activewear (NYSE:GIL - Get Free Report) TSE: GIL was upgraded by research analysts at Scotiabank to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report issued on Wednesday, MarketBeat reports. The firm presently has a $55.00 price objective on the textile maker's stock. Scotiabank's price target points to a potential upside of 18.13% from the company's previous close.

Other analysts also recently issued reports about the company. Canaccord Genuity Group boosted their price target on Gildan Activewear from $53.00 to $58.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 20th. Barclays initiated coverage on shares of Gildan Activewear in a research report on Monday, April 28th. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $51.00 target price for the company. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on shares of Gildan Activewear from $58.00 to $64.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 20th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on shares of Gildan Activewear from $60.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 20th. Finally, CIBC decreased their target price on shares of Gildan Activewear from $60.00 to $56.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Gildan Activewear currently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $57.91.

Gildan Activewear Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE GIL traded down $1.60 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $46.56. 1,573,773 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 632,723. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.62, a P/E/G ratio of 1.76 and a beta of 1.21. The company has a quick ratio of 0.98, a current ratio of 2.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $44.82 and its 200-day simple moving average is $47.82. Gildan Activewear has a twelve month low of $36.91 and a twelve month high of $55.39.

Gildan Activewear (NYSE:GIL - Get Free Report) TSE: GIL last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The textile maker reported $0.59 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.57 by $0.02. Gildan Activewear had a net margin of 12.26% and a return on equity of 28.80%. The firm had revenue of $711.70 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $715.29 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.59 EPS. The business's revenue was up 2.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts predict that Gildan Activewear will post 3.48 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in GIL. Syon Capital LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Gildan Activewear by 3.9% in the 4th quarter. Syon Capital LLC now owns 6,524 shares of the textile maker's stock valued at $307,000 after purchasing an additional 242 shares in the last quarter. Cooper Financial Group lifted its position in shares of Gildan Activewear by 1.7% during the 1st quarter. Cooper Financial Group now owns 16,537 shares of the textile maker's stock worth $731,000 after buying an additional 269 shares during the last quarter. Haven Private LLC boosted its stake in Gildan Activewear by 3.4% in the first quarter. Haven Private LLC now owns 8,653 shares of the textile maker's stock valued at $383,000 after buying an additional 284 shares in the last quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp boosted its stake in Gildan Activewear by 61.8% in the fourth quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 872 shares of the textile maker's stock valued at $41,000 after buying an additional 333 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Huntington National Bank grew its position in Gildan Activewear by 16.4% in the fourth quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 2,803 shares of the textile maker's stock valued at $132,000 after acquiring an additional 395 shares during the last quarter. 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.