Gildan Activewear (NYSE:GIL) Sees Large Volume Increase – Should You Buy?

Gildan Activewear Inc. (NYSE:GIL) (TSE:GIL) shares saw strong trading volume on Tuesday . 422,892 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 8% from the previous session’s volume of 461,434 shares.The stock last traded at $49.00 and had previously closed at $47.97.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. UBS Group upgraded shares of Gildan Activewear from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the company from $50.00 to $60.00 in a research note on Friday. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on shares of Gildan Activewear from $47.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Canaccord Genuity Group upped their price target on shares of Gildan Activewear from $52.00 to $53.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. TD Securities boosted their price objective on Gildan Activewear from $58.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 2nd. Finally, CIBC boosted their price target on Gildan Activewear from $48.00 to $56.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to MarketBeat.com, Gildan Activewear currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $53.35.

Gildan Activewear Stock Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 0.98, a current ratio of 2.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81. The company has a market capitalization of $7.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.41, a PEG ratio of 1.82 and a beta of 1.41. The company’s 50-day moving average is $48.28 and its two-hundred day moving average is $45.29.

Gildan Activewear (NYSE:GIL) (TSE:GIL) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The textile maker reported $0.85 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.85. The firm had revenue of $891.10 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $882.85 million. Gildan Activewear had a return on equity of 26.88% and a net margin of 13.06%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.74 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that Gildan Activewear Inc. will post 2.97 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Gildan Activewear Cuts Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 16th. Investors of record on Thursday, November 21st were paid a $0.152 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, November 21st. This represents a $0.61 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.24%. Gildan Activewear’s payout ratio is 32.41%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Gildan Activewear

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in GIL. Janus Henderson Group PLC lifted its position in Gildan Activewear by 3.6% during the third quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 6,841,572 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $322,298,000 after purchasing an additional 240,375 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company boosted its stake in shares of Gildan Activewear by 14.4% in the 2nd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 2,568,733 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $97,290,000 after buying an additional 324,304 shares during the last quarter. Simcoe Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Gildan Activewear by 10.5% in the third quarter. Simcoe Capital Management LLC now owns 2,387,865 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $112,492,000 after acquiring an additional 226,695 shares during the period. EdgePoint Investment Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Gildan Activewear by 28.0% in the 2nd quarter. EdgePoint Investment Group Inc. now owns 1,863,618 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $70,696,000 after purchasing an additional 407,113 shares during the period. Finally, Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. boosted its holdings in shares of Gildan Activewear by 2.8% in the third quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. now owns 1,618,420 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $76,244,000 after buying an additional 44,725 shares during the last quarter. 82.83% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.