Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank Increases Stock Holdings in Gildan Activewear Inc. (NYSE:GIL)

Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank increased its stake in Gildan Activewear Inc. (NYSE:GIL) (TSE:GIL) by 80.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 245,926 shares of the textile maker’s stock after acquiring an additional 109,993 shares during the quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank owned approximately 0.16% of Gildan Activewear worth $11,568,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Fifth Third Bancorp increased its stake 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 worth $41,000 after purchasing an additional 333 shares in the last quarter. Cooper Financial Group lifted its stake in Gildan Activewear by 2.1% in the 4th 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 in the last quarter. Plato Investment Management Ltd acquired a new stake in Gildan Activewear in the 4th quarter worth about $28,000. Willis Investment Counsel increased its stake in Gildan Activewear by 1.8% during the 4th quarter. Willis Investment Counsel now owns 35,167 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $1,655,000 after buying an additional 622 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Gildan Activewear by 80.1% during the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,459 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $69,000 after acquiring an additional 649 shares during the last quarter. 82.83% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Gildan Activewear Price Performance

Gildan Activewear stock opened at $48.33 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 2.22, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $50.75 and a 200 day moving average price of $48.57. Gildan Activewear Inc. has a 12-month low of $32.23 and a 12-month high of $55.39. The stock has a market cap of $7.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.33, a PEG ratio of 1.76 and a beta of 1.39.

Gildan Activewear (NYSE:GIL) (TSE:GIL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 19th. The textile maker reported $0.83 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.13 by ($0.30). The firm had revenue of $822.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $805.75 million. Gildan Activewear had a return on equity of 28.80% and a net margin of 12.26%. The firm’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 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Gildan Activewear Inc. will post 3.48 earnings per share for the current year.

Gildan Activewear Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 7th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, March 12th will be paid a $0.226 dividend. This represents a $0.90 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.87%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, March 12th. This is a positive change from Gildan Activewear’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.15. Gildan Activewear’s dividend payout ratio is 36.00%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

GIL has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Citigroup lifted their price target on Gildan Activewear from $59.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 20th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on shares of Gildan Activewear from $60.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 20th. TD Securities increased their target price on shares of Gildan Activewear from $62.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 20th. Canaccord Genuity Group boosted their price target on shares of Gildan Activewear from $53.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 20th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on shares of Gildan Activewear from $58.00 to $64.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 20th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat.com, Gildan Activewear presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $60.00.

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.