Gildan Activewear, Inc. (NYSE:GIL) Receives Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

Shares of Gildan Activewear, Inc. (NYSE:GIL) (TSE:GIL) have been assigned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the fifteen analysts that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and twelve have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year price target among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $77.5385.

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Zacks Research lowered shares of Gildan Activewear from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 23rd. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Gildan Activewear in a research report on Monday, December 29th. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on shares of Gildan Activewear from $70.00 to $78.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, January 26th. Barclays reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $70.00 target price (up from $64.00) on shares of Gildan Activewear in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price target on Gildan Activewear from $68.00 to $71.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, October 27th.

Gildan Activewear Stock Performance

GIL opened at $71.16 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 2.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $65.71 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $59.96. The firm has a market capitalization of $13.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.73 and a beta of 1.08. Gildan Activewear has a 12-month low of $37.16 and a 12-month high of $73.69.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in Gildan Activewear by 26.0% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 7,566,962 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $472,964,000 after buying an additional 1,561,729 shares during the period. Mackenzie Financial Corp boosted its position in shares of Gildan Activewear by 41.2% during the 4th quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 6,860,108 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $429,382,000 after acquiring an additional 2,001,279 shares in the last quarter. Caisse de depot et placement du Quebec increased its stake in Gildan Activewear by 1,695.7% in the fourth quarter. Caisse de depot et placement du Quebec now owns 6,240,014 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $390,539,000 after acquiring an additional 5,892,514 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company increased its stake in Gildan Activewear by 27.6% in the fourth quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 5,797,077 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $363,102,000 after acquiring an additional 1,252,985 shares during the period. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised its position in Gildan Activewear by 16.4% in the fourth quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 5,717,871 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $357,138,000 after purchasing an additional 805,396 shares in the last quarter. 82.83% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Gildan Activewear Company Profile

Gildan Activewear Inc (NYSE:GIL) is a vertically integrated manufacturer and wholesaler of branded basic apparel, including activewear, socks, hosiery and underwear. Headquartered in Montreal, Quebec, the company produces a wide range of products such as T-shirts, fleece garments, sport shirts, performance wear, and shapewear under its Gildan, Anvil, Comfort Colors, Gold Toe, Peds and Silks brands. Leveraging its in-house knitting, dyeing, cut-and-sew and finishing operations, Gildan supplies blank apparel to screen printers, promotional product distributors and major retailers around the world.

Since its founding in 1984 by Glenn J.