Gildan Activewear (NYSE:GIL) Earns Hold Rating from Analysts at StockNews.com

StockNews.com started coverage on shares of Gildan Activewear (NYSE:GIL – Get Rating) (TSE:GIL) in a research report sent to investors on Thursday morning. The firm issued a hold rating on the textile maker’s stock.

Several other research firms also recently issued reports on GIL. TD Securities downgraded shares of Gildan Activewear from a buy rating to a hold rating and dropped their price target for the company from $43.00 to $36.00 in a research note on Monday, January 23rd. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an outperform rating and set a $39.00 price target on shares of Gildan Activewear in a research note on Thursday, February 23rd. TheStreet downgraded shares of Gildan Activewear from a b rating to a c+ rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 22nd. Finally, National Bank Financial raised their price target on shares of Gildan Activewear from C$45.00 to C$46.00 in a research note on Thursday, February 23rd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $41.50.

Gildan Activewear Stock Performance

Shares of Gildan Activewear stock opened at $31.42 on Thursday. Gildan Activewear has a fifty-two week low of $25.67 and a fifty-two week high of $39.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46, a current ratio of 2.69 and a quick ratio of 0.78. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.72, a P/E/G ratio of 1.14 and a beta of 1.23. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $30.76 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $29.80.

Gildan Activewear (NYSE:GIL – Get Rating) (TSE:GIL) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 22nd. The textile maker reported $0.65 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.66 by ($0.01). Gildan Activewear had a net margin of 16.71% and a return on equity of 30.81%. The company had revenue of $720.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $761.15 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.76 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 8.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast that Gildan Activewear will post 3.09 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Gildan Activewear Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 10th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 14th will be paid a dividend of $0.14 per share. This represents a $0.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.78%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 13th. Gildan Activewear’s dividend payout ratio is presently 25.26%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Gildan Activewear

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Pictet Asset Management SA raised its stake in Gildan Activewear by 1.8% during the third quarter. Pictet Asset Management SA now owns 77,766 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $2,210,000 after buying an additional 1,385 shares during the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC grew its holdings in Gildan Activewear by 143.6% in the second quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 734,900 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $21,153,000 after purchasing an additional 433,200 shares during the period. Pearl River Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Gildan Activewear in the third quarter worth $317,000. Clarius Group LLC acquired a new stake in Gildan Activewear in the second quarter worth $268,000. Finally, Addenda Capital Inc. grew its holdings in Gildan Activewear by 12.1% in the third quarter. Addenda Capital Inc. now owns 339,366 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $13,252,000 after purchasing an additional 36,742 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 75.07% of the company’s stock.

About Gildan Activewear

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Gildan Activewear, Inc is engaged in the manufacturing and sale of printwear and branded apparel. Its products include activewear, underwear, socks, hosiery, and legwear. The firm operates under the brand name Gildan, Alstyle, American Apparel, Comfort Colors, GOLD TOE, Anvil, Secret, Silks, and Peds.