HighTower Advisors LLC Acquires 3,376 Shares of Gildan Activewear Inc. (NYSE:GIL)

HighTower Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Gildan Activewear Inc. (NYSE:GIL) (TSE:GIL) by 34.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 13,116 shares of the textile maker’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,376 shares during the quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC’s holdings in Gildan Activewear were worth $617,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank lifted its position in shares of Gildan Activewear by 80.9% during the fourth quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 245,926 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $11,568,000 after purchasing an additional 109,993 shares in the last quarter. Haven Private LLC acquired a new position in Gildan Activewear during the 4th quarter worth $394,000. Candriam S.C.A. bought a new position in Gildan Activewear in the 4th quarter valued at $940,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Gildan Activewear in the 4th quarter valued at $3,744,000. Finally, Verdence Capital Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Gildan Activewear by 15.4% during the fourth quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC now owns 18,580 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $874,000 after acquiring an additional 2,483 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 82.83% of the company’s stock.

Gildan Activewear Stock Up 0.3 %

Shares of NYSE:GIL opened at $44.94 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $50.21 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $48.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a current ratio of 2.22. The company has a market capitalization of $6.83 billion, a PE ratio of 17.98, a PEG ratio of 1.76 and a beta of 1.39. Gildan Activewear Inc. has a 52 week low of $32.23 and a 52 week high of $55.39.

Gildan Activewear (NYSE:GIL) (TSE:GIL) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 19th. The textile maker reported $0.83 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.13 by ($0.30). The firm had revenue of $822.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $805.75 million. Gildan Activewear had a net margin of 12.26% and a return on equity of 28.80%. Gildan Activewear’s quarterly revenue was up 5.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.75 EPS. Analysts forecast that Gildan Activewear Inc. will post 3.48 earnings per share for the current year.

Gildan Activewear Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 7th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, March 12th will be issued a dividend of $0.226 per share. This represents a $0.90 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.01%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, March 12th. This is a boost from Gildan Activewear’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.15. Gildan Activewear’s payout ratio is 36.00%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. TD Securities raised their price target on Gildan Activewear from $62.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 20th. Citigroup raised their target price on shares of Gildan Activewear from $59.00 to $62.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 20th. CIBC boosted their price target on shares of Gildan Activewear from $56.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 20th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on shares of Gildan Activewear from $60.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 20th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on shares of Gildan Activewear from $58.00 to $64.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 20th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $60.00.

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.