Gildan Activewear Inc. (TSE:GIL) Given Average Recommendation of "Buy" by Brokerages

Gildan Activewear Inc. (TSE:GIL - Get Free Report) NYSE: GIL has been given an average rating of "Buy" by the seven ratings firms that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. The average 1 year price target among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is C$57.20.

GIL has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Desjardins upped their target price on Gildan Activewear from C$63.00 to C$67.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, August 6th. BMO Capital Markets raised Gildan Activewear to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. National Bankshares boosted their target price on shares of Gildan Activewear from C$68.00 to C$74.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. TD Securities raised their price target on shares of Gildan Activewear from C$46.00 to C$50.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of Gildan Activewear from C$44.00 to C$54.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th.

Gildan Activewear Trading Up 0.5 %

GIL stock traded up C$0.33 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching C$68.53. The company had a trading volume of 481,700 shares, compared to its average volume of 366,009. The company has a market capitalization of C$11.14 billion, a PE ratio of 20.96, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.55 and a beta of 1.64. The firm has a 50 day moving average of C$64.12 and a 200 day moving average of C$56.15. Gildan Activewear has a 12 month low of C$41.32 and a 12 month high of C$70.15. 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 Cuts Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Investors of record on Thursday, November 21st will be issued a dividend of $0.205 per share. This represents a $0.82 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.20%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 21st. Gildan Activewear's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 33.94%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Senior Officer Benito Masi sold 50,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, August 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of C$41.55, for a total value of C$2,077,495.00. In related news, Senior Officer Jason De Haan sold 19,105 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of C$42.05, for a total value of C$803,365.25. Also, Senior Officer Benito Masi sold 50,000 shares of Gildan Activewear stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of C$41.55, for a total value of C$2,077,495.00. In the last three months, insiders have sold 116,605 shares of company stock worth $5,910,039. Insiders own 2.26% of the company's stock.

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.