Gildan Activewear (NYSE:GIL) Sets New 12-Month High After Dividend Announcement

Gildan Activewear Inc. (NYSE:GIL) (TSE:GIL) reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Wednesday following a dividend announcement from the company. The stock traded as high as $53.75 and last traded at $53.10, with a volume of 143310 shares. The stock had previously closed at $51.98.

The newly announced dividend which will be paid on Monday, April 7th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, March 12th will be issued a $0.226 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, March 12th. This represents a $0.90 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.67%. This is a positive change from Gildan Activewear’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.15. Gildan Activewear’s dividend payout ratio is presently 32.80%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on GIL. TD Securities upped their target price on Gildan Activewear from $62.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday. UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of Gildan Activewear from $60.00 to $69.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday. Canaccord Genuity Group lifted their price objective on shares of Gildan Activewear from $52.00 to $53.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on shares of Gildan Activewear from $58.00 to $64.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday. Finally, CIBC lifted their price target on Gildan Activewear from $56.00 to $60.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $60.00.

Gildan Activewear Stock Performance

The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $49.47 and its 200 day simple moving average is $47.54. The stock has a market cap of $8.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.67, a PEG ratio of 1.74 and a beta of 1.41. The company has a current ratio of 2.31, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81.

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

Institutional Trading of Gildan Activewear

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in GIL. Plato Investment Management Ltd bought a new position in shares of Gildan Activewear during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Blue Trust Inc. grew its stake in shares of Gildan Activewear by 96.1% during the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 810 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $38,000 after acquiring an additional 397 shares during the period. Fifth Third Bancorp increased its holdings in Gildan Activewear by 61.8% in the 4th quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 872 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $41,000 after acquiring an additional 333 shares during the last quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC raised its stake in Gildan Activewear by 500.0% in the 4th quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 894 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $42,000 after acquiring an additional 745 shares during the period. Finally, Venturi Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in Gildan Activewear by 899.0% during the fourth quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,009 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $47,000 after purchasing an additional 908 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors 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.