Gildan Activewear (NYSE:GIL) Upgraded by UBS Group to Buy Rating

UBS Group upgraded shares of Gildan Activewear (NYSE:GIL) (TSE:GIL) from a neutral rating to a buy rating in a report issued on Friday, MarketBeat Ratings reports. The brokerage currently has $60.00 price target on the textile maker’s stock, up from their prior price target of $50.00.

GIL has been the subject of several other research reports. TD Securities lifted their price target on Gildan Activewear from $58.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, December 2nd. CIBC increased their price target on shares of Gildan Activewear from $48.00 to $56.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on shares of Gildan Activewear from $54.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on Gildan Activewear from $47.00 to $58.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Citigroup upped their price target on Gildan Activewear from $54.00 to $59.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $53.35.

Gildan Activewear Stock Up 2.7 %

NYSE:GIL opened at $48.24 on Friday. Gildan Activewear has a 1-year low of $30.68 and a 1-year high of $50.60. 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 firm’s 50-day moving average price is $48.30 and its 200-day moving average price is $45.12. The company has a market capitalization of $7.38 billion, a PE ratio of 19.07, a P/E/G ratio of 1.82 and a beta of 1.41.

Gildan Activewear (NYSE:GIL) (TSE:GIL) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The textile maker reported $0.85 EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.85. Gildan Activewear had a return on equity of 26.88% and a net margin of 13.06%. The firm had revenue of $891.10 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $882.85 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.74 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts predict that Gildan Activewear will post 2.97 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Gildan Activewear Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 16th. Investors of record on Thursday, November 21st were given a dividend of $0.152 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, November 21st. This represents a $0.61 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.26%. Gildan Activewear’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 32.41%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Gildan Activewear

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of GIL. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC bought a new stake in Gildan Activewear during the third quarter valued at about $24,262,000. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its stake in Gildan Activewear by 6.5% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 35,135 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $1,702,000 after acquiring an additional 2,138 shares during the period. Synovus Financial Corp boosted its position in shares of Gildan Activewear by 76.1% in the third quarter. Synovus Financial Corp now owns 40,798 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $1,922,000 after purchasing an additional 17,634 shares during the period. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new stake in shares of Gildan Activewear in the third quarter worth $597,000. Finally, Sanctuary Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Gildan Activewear during the 3rd quarter valued at $969,000. Institutional investors own 82.83% of the company’s stock.

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.