Analyzing Gildan Activewear (NYSE:GIL) and Tefron (OTCMKTS:TFRFF)

Gildan Activewear (NYSE:GIL) and Tefron (OTCMKTS:TFRFF) are both consumer discretionary companies, but which is the superior investment? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their profitability, earnings, dividends, risk, analyst recommendations, valuation and institutional ownership.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of current ratings and price targets for Gildan Activewear and Tefron, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Gildan Activewear	0	4	12	0	2.75
Tefron	0	0	0	0	0.00

Gildan Activewear currently has a consensus price target of $79.77, suggesting a potential upside of 39.69%. Given Gildan Activewear’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, equities analysts plainly believe Gildan Activewear is more favorable than Tefron.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

82.8% of Gildan Activewear shares are held by institutional investors. 2.0% of Gildan Activewear shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 53.3% of Tefron shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Profitability

This table compares Gildan Activewear and Tefron’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Gildan Activewear	6.10%	21.38%	7.28%
Tefron	2.14%	6.72%	3.44%

Volatility and Risk

Gildan Activewear has a beta of 1.08, indicating that its share price is 8% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Tefron has a beta of 0.29, indicating that its share price is 71% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Gildan Activewear and Tefron”s revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Gildan Activewear	$3.62 billion	2.92	$398.88 million	$1.70	33.59
Tefron	$293.86 million	0.28	$15.11 million	$0.40	16.08

Gildan Activewear has higher revenue and earnings than Tefron. Tefron is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Gildan Activewear, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Summary

Gildan Activewear beats Tefron on 13 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

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. The company also offers hosiery products comprising athletic; dress; and casual, liner, therapeutic, and workwear socks under the Gildan, Under Armour, GoldToe, Signature Gold by Goldtoe, Peds, MediPeds, All Pro, and GoldTeo Edition TM brands. In addition, it provides men's and boys' underwear products, and ladies panties under the Gildan and Gildan Platinum brands. The company sells its products to wholesale distributors, screen printers, and embellishers, as well as to retailers and lifestyle brand companies. The company was formerly known as Textiles Gildan Inc. and changed its name to Gildan Activewear Inc. in March 1995. Gildan Activewear Inc. was founded in 1946 and is headquartered in Montreal, Canada.

About Tefron

Tefron Ltd. engages in the design, development, production, marketing, and sale of intimate apparel and activewear, and leisurewear worldwide. The company through Brands and Retail segments. It offers women’s intimate, and active and lounge wear; and men’s underwear, activewear, and baselayer products. Tefron Ltd. was incorporated in 1977 and is headquartered in Misgav, Israel.