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

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

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on Gildan Activewear from $58.00 to $64.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday. Canaccord Genuity Group raised their price target on shares of Gildan Activewear from $53.00 to $58.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday. TD Securities lifted their price target on shares of Gildan Activewear from $62.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday. Canaccord Genuity Group increased their price objective on Gildan Activewear from $52.00 to $53.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on Gildan Activewear from $60.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $60.00.

Gildan Activewear Stock Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $8.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.67, a P/E/G ratio of 1.74 and a beta of 1.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 2.31 and a quick ratio of 0.98. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $49.47 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $47.54.

Gildan Activewear (NYSE:GIL) (TSE:GIL) last issued 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). The firm had revenue of $822.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $805.75 million. Gildan Activewear had a net margin of 12.26% and a return on equity of 27.49%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 5.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.75 earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict that Gildan Activewear Inc. will post 3.44 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in GIL. Plato Investment Management Ltd acquired a new position in Gildan Activewear during the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its position in shares of Gildan Activewear by 96.1% during the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 810 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $38,000 after buying an additional 397 shares during the last quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp boosted its position in shares of Gildan Activewear by 61.8% during 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. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC grew its holdings in Gildan Activewear by 500.0% during the fourth quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 894 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $42,000 after buying an additional 745 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Venturi Wealth Management LLC raised its position in Gildan Activewear by 899.0% in the 4th quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,009 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $47,000 after buying an additional 908 shares during the last quarter. 82.83% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.