Gildan Activewear (NYSE:GIL) Trading 7.2% Higher on Earnings Beat

Gildan Activewear Inc. (NYSE:GIL) (TSE:GIL) shares were up 7.2% during trading on Wednesday after the company announced better than expected quarterly earnings. The company traded as high as $45.95 and last traded at $45.98. Approximately 229,782 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 64% from the average daily volume of 646,792 shares. The stock had previously closed at $42.90.

The textile maker reported $0.59 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.57 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $711.70 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $715.29 million. Gildan Activewear had a net margin of 12.26% and a return on equity of 28.80%. Gildan Activewear’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.59 EPS.

Gildan Activewear Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 16th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 20th will be given a dividend of $0.226 per share. This represents a $0.90 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.97%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 20th. Gildan Activewear’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 34.75%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. Barclays assumed coverage on Gildan Activewear in a research report on Monday. They set an “overweight” rating and a $51.00 price target for the company. CIBC lowered their price target on Gildan Activewear from $60.00 to $56.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on Gildan Activewear from $60.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 20th. Canaccord Genuity Group boosted their price target on Gildan Activewear from $53.00 to $58.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 20th. Finally, Citigroup boosted their price target on Gildan Activewear from $59.00 to $62.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 20th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $58.20.

Institutional Trading of Gildan Activewear

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of GIL. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new stake in shares of Gildan Activewear during the third quarter worth about $597,000. Synovus Financial Corp increased its position in shares of Gildan Activewear by 76.1% during the third quarter. Synovus Financial Corp now owns 40,798 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $1,922,000 after acquiring an additional 17,634 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its position in shares of Gildan Activewear by 6.5% during the third 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 last quarter. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Gildan Activewear during the third quarter worth about $24,262,000. Finally, Cooper Financial Group increased its position in shares of Gildan Activewear by 2.1% during the fourth quarter. Cooper Financial Group now owns 16,268 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $765,000 after acquiring an additional 340 shares during the last quarter. 82.83% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Gildan Activewear Stock Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $6.97 billion, a PE ratio of 18.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.76 and a beta of 1.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92, a current ratio of 2.22 and a quick ratio of 0.98. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $45.07 and a 200-day moving average price of $47.80.

Gildan Activewear Company Profile

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.