Candriam S.C.A. Acquires New Shares in Gildan Activewear Inc. (NYSE:GIL)

Candriam S.C.A. bought a new stake in shares of Gildan Activewear Inc. (NYSE:GIL) (TSE:GIL) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 19,989 shares of the textile maker’s stock, valued at approximately $940,000.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of GIL. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC acquired a new stake in Gildan Activewear during the 3rd quarter valued at $216,000. US Bancorp DE grew its holdings in Gildan Activewear by 24.6% during the 3rd quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 9,359 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $441,000 after buying an additional 1,849 shares during the last quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Gildan Activewear by 6.7% during the third quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC now owns 16,097 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $758,000 after purchasing an additional 1,004 shares during the last quarter. Atria Investments Inc acquired a new stake in shares of Gildan Activewear during the third quarter worth $391,000. Finally, Tacita Capital Inc boosted its holdings in shares of Gildan Activewear by 1,025.5% during the third quarter. Tacita Capital Inc now owns 13,056 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $615,000 after purchasing an additional 11,896 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.83% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently issued reports on GIL. BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on Gildan Activewear from $58.00 to $64.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 20th. Canaccord Genuity Group raised their price objective on Gildan Activewear from $53.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 20th. Citigroup raised their price objective on Gildan Activewear from $59.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 20th. TD Securities raised their price objective on Gildan Activewear from $62.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 20th. Finally, CIBC raised their price objective on Gildan Activewear from $56.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 20th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $60.00.

Gildan Activewear Trading Down 0.4 %

NYSE:GIL opened at $49.29 on Tuesday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $50.71 and its two-hundred day moving average is $48.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92, a current ratio of 2.22 and a quick ratio of 0.98. Gildan Activewear Inc. has a 12 month low of $32.23 and a 12 month high of $55.39. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.50 billion, a PE ratio of 19.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.76 and a beta of 1.39.

Gildan Activewear (NYSE:GIL) (TSE:GIL) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 12.26% and a return on equity of 28.80%. The company had revenue of $822.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $805.75 million. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.75 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts predict that Gildan Activewear Inc. will post 3.48 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Gildan Activewear Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 7th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, March 12th will be given a dividend of $0.226 per share. This represents a $0.90 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.83%. 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 payout ratio is presently 36.00%.

About Gildan Activewear

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.