Gildan Activewear (NYSE:GIL) Trading 7.2% Higher on Earnings Beat

Gildan Activewear Inc. (NYSE:GIL) (TSE:GIL)’s share price traded up 7.2% during trading on Wednesday following a better than expected earnings announcement. The company traded as high as $45.95 and last traded at $45.98. 229,782 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 64% from the average session volume of 646,792 shares. The stock had previously closed at $42.90.

The textile maker reported $0.59 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.57 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $711.70 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $715.29 million. Gildan Activewear had a return on equity of 28.80% and a net margin of 12.26%. The firm’s revenue was up 2.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.59 earnings per share.

Gildan Activewear Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 16th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 20th will be paid a $0.226 dividend. This represents a $0.90 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.97%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 20th. Gildan Activewear’s dividend payout ratio is currently 34.75%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

GIL has been the subject of a number of research reports. Canaccord Genuity Group boosted their price objective on Gildan Activewear from $53.00 to $58.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 20th. CIBC reduced their price objective on Gildan Activewear from $60.00 to $56.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on Gildan Activewear from $60.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 20th. Citigroup lifted their target price on shares of Gildan Activewear from $59.00 to $62.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 20th. Finally, Barclays initiated coverage on shares of Gildan Activewear in a report on Monday. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $51.00 target price on the stock. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $58.20.

Institutional Trading of Gildan Activewear

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in GIL. Syon Capital LLC raised its position in Gildan Activewear by 3.9% during the fourth quarter. Syon Capital LLC now owns 6,524 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $307,000 after acquiring an additional 242 shares during the last quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp raised its position in shares of 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 during the last quarter. Cooper Financial Group raised its position in shares of Gildan Activewear by 2.1% in the fourth quarter. Cooper Financial Group now owns 16,268 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $765,000 after buying an additional 340 shares during the last quarter. Huntington National Bank raised its position in shares of 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 buying an additional 395 shares during the last quarter. Finally, TD Private Client Wealth LLC raised its position in shares of Gildan Activewear by 15.5% in the first quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC now owns 3,545 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $157,000 after buying an additional 476 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.83% of the company’s stock.

Gildan Activewear Trading Down 0.3 %

The business’s 50-day moving average price is $45.07 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $47.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92, a current ratio of 2.22 and a quick ratio of 0.98. The firm has a market cap of $6.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.76 and a beta of 1.16.

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.