Gildan Activewear (NYSE:GIL) Reaches New 1-Year High Following Analyst Upgrade

Shares of Gildan Activewear, Inc. (NYSE:GIL) (TSE:GIL) hit a new 52-week high on Wednesday after Scotiabank raised their price target on the stock from $66.00 to $72.00. Scotiabank currently has a sector outperform rating on the stock. Gildan Activewear traded as high as $68.70 and last traded at $67.9860, with a volume of 50521 shares. The stock had previously closed at $67.12.

A number of other brokerages have also weighed in on GIL. Citigroup lowered shares of Gildan Activewear from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $60.00 to $63.00 in a report on Monday, October 20th. UBS Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $110.00 target price (up from $80.00) on shares of Gildan Activewear in a research report on Tuesday, December 16th. Barclays reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $70.00 target price (up previously from $64.00) on shares of Gildan Activewear in a report on Thursday, October 30th. TD Securities restated a “buy” rating and set a $77.00 price target on shares of Gildan Activewear in a research note on Tuesday, January 27th. Finally, TD Cowen raised their price objective on Gildan Activewear from $67.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, October 6th. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $77.54.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Gildan Activewear

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Gildan Activewear in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $101,409,000. Mackenzie Financial Corp raised its stake in shares of Gildan Activewear by 61.9% during the second quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 4,434,020 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $218,622,000 after purchasing an additional 1,695,329 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Gildan Activewear by 26.0% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 7,566,962 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $472,964,000 after purchasing an additional 1,561,729 shares in the last quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Gildan Activewear by 95.2% during the third quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 2,799,309 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $161,749,000 after purchasing an additional 1,364,953 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Picton Mahoney Asset Management purchased a new position in shares of Gildan Activewear in the second quarter valued at $65,409,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.83% of the company’s stock.

Gildan Activewear Stock Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $12.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.61 and a beta of 1.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a current ratio of 2.01. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $62.89 and its two-hundred day moving average is $58.55.

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.