Gildan Activewear (NYSE:GIL) Upgraded at UBS Group

UBS Group upgraded shares of Gildan Activewear (NYSE:GIL) (TSE:GIL) from a neutral rating to a buy rating in a research report report published on Friday, Marketbeat reports. They currently have $60.00 target price on the textile maker’s stock, up from their prior target price of $50.00.

A number of other brokerages have also issued reports on GIL. Canaccord Genuity Group increased their price objective on Gildan Activewear from $52.00 to $53.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Citigroup lifted their target price on Gildan Activewear from $54.00 to $59.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. TD Securities upped their price target on shares of Gildan Activewear from $58.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, December 2nd. BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on Gildan Activewear from $47.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, CIBC boosted their price target on shares of Gildan Activewear from $48.00 to $56.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat.com, Gildan Activewear currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $53.35.

Gildan Activewear Price Performance

Shares of Gildan Activewear stock opened at $48.24 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.07, a PEG ratio of 1.82 and a beta of 1.41. Gildan Activewear has a twelve month low of $30.68 and a twelve month high of $50.60. The company has a current ratio of 2.31, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $48.30 and its 200 day moving average price is $45.22.

Gildan Activewear (NYSE:GIL) (TSE:GIL) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The textile maker reported $0.85 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.85. The business had revenue of $891.10 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $882.85 million. Gildan Activewear had a net margin of 13.06% and a return on equity of 26.88%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 2.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.74 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Gildan Activewear will post 2.97 earnings per share for the current year.

Gildan Activewear Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 16th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 21st were given a dividend of $0.152 per share. This represents a $0.61 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.26%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, November 21st. Gildan Activewear’s dividend payout ratio is currently 32.41%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Gildan Activewear

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC acquired a new position in Gildan Activewear during the third quarter valued at approximately $24,262,000. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its holdings in Gildan Activewear by 6.5% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 35,135 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $1,702,000 after buying an additional 2,138 shares in the last quarter. Synovus Financial Corp grew its stake in shares of Gildan Activewear by 76.1% in the third quarter. Synovus Financial Corp now owns 40,798 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $1,922,000 after acquiring an additional 17,634 shares in the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new position in shares of Gildan Activewear during the third quarter worth approximately $597,000. Finally, Sanctuary Advisors LLC bought a new position in Gildan Activewear during the 3rd quarter worth $969,000. Institutional investors own 82.83% of the company’s stock.

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.