Short Interest in Gildan Activewear Inc. (NYSE:GIL) Expands By 5.9%

Gildan Activewear Inc. (NYSE:GIL) (TSE:GIL) was the target of a significant increase in short interest during the month of October. As of October 31st, there was short interest totalling 6,090,000 shares, an increase of 5.9% from the October 15th total of 5,750,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 449,900 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 13.5 days. Approximately 3.5% of the company’s shares are short sold.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on GIL. TD Securities raised their target price on shares of Gildan Activewear from $38.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 3rd. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price objective on Gildan Activewear from $38.00 to $37.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 3rd. Citigroup reduced their target price on Gildan Activewear from $42.00 to $40.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, August 4th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on shares of Gildan Activewear from $34.00 to $37.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 3rd. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group raised their target price on shares of Gildan Activewear from $35.00 to $37.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 3rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Gildan Activewear has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $40.77.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Gildan Activewear

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Natixis Advisors L.P. lifted its position in Gildan Activewear by 2.5% in the 3rd quarter. Natixis Advisors L.P. now owns 13,204 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $370,000 after buying an additional 324 shares in the last quarter. Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ grew its stake in Gildan Activewear by 1.2% in the first quarter. Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ now owns 28,576 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $948,000 after purchasing an additional 343 shares in the last quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp increased its position in Gildan Activewear by 11.4% in the 1st quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 3,413 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $113,000 after purchasing an additional 348 shares during the last quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC increased its position in Gildan Activewear by 1.5% in the 3rd quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC now owns 27,704 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $776,000 after purchasing an additional 400 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Signaturefd LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Gildan Activewear by 16.0% during the 2nd quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 2,946 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $95,000 after buying an additional 407 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.09% of the company’s stock.

Gildan Activewear Trading Up 1.3 %

NYSE GIL traded up $0.47 on Friday, hitting $35.73. 991,863 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 544,680. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $29.54 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $30.07. The company has a market capitalization of $6.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.69, a P/E/G ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 1.31. Gildan Activewear has a 52-week low of $26.30 and a 52-week high of $36.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40, a current ratio of 2.50 and a quick ratio of 0.93.

Gildan Activewear Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 18th. Investors of record on Wednesday, November 22nd will be paid a $0.186 dividend. This represents a $0.74 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.08%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, November 21st. Gildan Activewear’s dividend payout ratio is currently 28.35%.

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, Comfort Colors, American Apparel, Alstyle, and GoldToe brands.