Gildan Activewear (NYSE:GIL) Shares Up 7% Following Earnings Beat

Gildan Activewear, Inc. (NYSE:GIL) (TSE:GIL)’s stock price rose 7% during trading on Friday following a better than expected earnings announcement. The company traded as high as $56.11 and last traded at $56.19. 1,381,957 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 3% from the average daily volume of 1,428,779 shares. The stock had previously closed at $52.50.

The textile maker reported $1.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.11 by $0.17. Gildan Activewear had a return on equity of 21.38% and a net margin of 6.10%.The firm had revenue of $1.58 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.61 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.97 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 72.3% on a year-over-year basis.

Gildan Activewear Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 14th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 20th will be given a dividend of $0.249 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 20th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.8%. Gildan Activewear’s dividend payout ratio is currently 58.82%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently commented on GIL shares. Stifel Nicolaus set a $83.00 target price on shares of Gildan Activewear in a research note on Friday. Scotiabank reiterated a “sector outperform” rating and issued a $67.00 price objective (up from $65.00) on shares of Gildan Activewear in a report on Friday. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $77.00 target price on shares of Gildan Activewear in a report on Friday, May 1st. Zacks Research upgraded Gildan Activewear from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $82.00 price target on shares of Gildan Activewear in a research note on Friday. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Gildan Activewear presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $78.86.

Institutional Trading of Gildan Activewear

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Islay Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Gildan Activewear in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Webster Bank N. A. purchased a new position in Gildan Activewear during the fourth quarter worth approximately $25,000. Larson Financial Group LLC boosted its stake in Gildan Activewear by 3,516.7% during the fourth quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 434 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 422 shares during the last quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd grew its holdings in Gildan Activewear by 14,833.3% in the 4th quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 448 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 445 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nisa Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Gildan Activewear in the 4th quarter valued at $32,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.83% of the company’s stock.

Gildan Activewear Stock Up 7.1%

The firm has a market capitalization of $10.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.02 and a beta of 1.11. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $54.51 and a 200-day simple moving average of $59.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32, a quick ratio of 1.17 and a current ratio of 2.35.

About Gildan Activewear

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.