BMO Capital Markets Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Gildan Activewear (NYSE:GIL) Stock

Gildan Activewear (NYSE:GIL) (TSE:GIL) had its price target upped by BMO Capital Markets from $58.00 to $64.00 in a research note published on Thursday, Marketbeat.com reports. They currently have an outperform rating on the textile maker’s stock.

Several other research analysts have also issued reports on GIL. Citigroup increased their target price on Gildan Activewear from $54.00 to $59.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. UBS Group upgraded Gildan Activewear from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $50.00 to $60.00 in a research note on Friday, January 10th. TD Securities upped their price target on Gildan Activewear from $58.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 2nd. Canaccord Genuity Group upped their price target on Gildan Activewear from $52.00 to $53.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Finally, CIBC upped their price target on Gildan Activewear from $48.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $60.00.

Gildan Activewear Stock Performance

NYSE:GIL opened at $55.09 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a current ratio of 2.31. Gildan Activewear has a 52-week low of $32.23 and a 52-week high of $55.12. The firm has a market cap of $8.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.04, a PEG ratio of 1.74 and a beta of 1.41. The business’s fifty day moving average is $49.47 and its 200 day moving average is $47.54.

Gildan Activewear (NYSE:GIL) (TSE:GIL) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 19th. The textile maker reported $0.83 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.13 by ($0.30). Gildan Activewear had a return on equity of 27.49% and a net margin of 12.26%. The business had revenue of $822.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $805.75 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.75 earnings per share. Gildan Activewear’s quarterly revenue was up 5.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts predict that Gildan Activewear will post 3.44 EPS for the current year.

Gildan Activewear Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 7th. Investors of record on Wednesday, March 12th will be paid a dividend of $0.226 per share. This represents a $0.90 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.64%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, March 12th. This is a positive change from Gildan Activewear’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.15. Gildan Activewear’s payout ratio is 32.80%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Syon Capital LLC increased 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 purchasing an additional 242 shares during the last quarter. CWM LLC boosted its stake in shares of Gildan Activewear by 23.0% in the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,698 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $80,000 after purchasing an additional 318 shares during the period. Fifth Third Bancorp boosted its stake 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 purchasing an additional 333 shares during the period. Cooper Financial Group boosted its stake 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 purchasing an additional 340 shares during the period. Finally, Huntington National Bank lifted its stake in Gildan Activewear by 16.4% in the fourth quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 2,803 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $132,000 after acquiring an additional 395 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.83% of the company’s stock.

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.