Gildan Activewear (TSE:GIL) Hits New 1-Year High – Here’s Why

Gildan Activewear Inc. (TSE:GIL) (NYSE:GIL) shares hit a new 52-week high on Thursday . The company traded as high as C$66.25 and last traded at C$66.33, with a volume of 363274 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at C$65.00.

Analyst Ratings Changes

GIL has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. TD Securities boosted their target price on shares of Gildan Activewear from C$46.00 to C$50.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Desjardins boosted their target price on shares of Gildan Activewear from C$63.00 to C$67.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 6th. Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of Gildan Activewear from C$44.00 to C$54.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. National Bankshares lifted their price objective on shares of Gildan Activewear from C$58.00 to C$68.00 in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets raised shares of Gildan Activewear to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of C$56.00.

Gildan Activewear Stock Performance

The stock’s 50-day moving average price is C$61.69 and its 200-day moving average price is C$54.67. The company has a market cap of C$10.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.88, a PEG ratio of 4.55 and a beta of 1.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 72.52, a current ratio of 2.35 and a quick ratio of 0.87.

Gildan Activewear (TSE:GIL) (NYSE:GIL) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The company reported C$1.01 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of C$0.99 by C$0.02. The company had revenue of C$1.18 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of C$1.17 billion. Gildan Activewear had a net margin of 13.01% and a return on equity of 21.95%. Equities analysts anticipate that Gildan Activewear Inc. will post 4.5460385 EPS for the current year.

Gildan Activewear Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 16th. Investors of record on Monday, September 16th were given a dividend of $0.28 per share. This is a boost from Gildan Activewear’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, August 22nd. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.69%. Gildan Activewear’s dividend payout ratio is currently 33.94%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Senior Officer Benito Masi sold 50,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of C$41.55, for a total transaction of C$2,077,495.00. In other Gildan Activewear news, Senior Officer Benito Masi sold 50,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of C$41.55, for a total transaction of C$2,077,495.00. Also, Director Michener Chandlee bought 1,196 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 8th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of C$40.85 per share, with a total value of C$48,856.60. Insiders sold 101,620 shares of company stock valued at $4,870,471 over the last quarter. 2.26% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.