National Bank of Canada FI Buys 272,627 Shares of Gildan Activewear Inc. (NYSE:GIL)

National Bank of Canada FI lifted its stake in shares of Gildan Activewear Inc. (NYSE:GIL - Free Report) TSE: GIL by 19.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,668,147 shares of the textile maker's stock after purchasing an additional 272,627 shares during the period. National Bank of Canada FI owned approximately 1.09% of Gildan Activewear worth $78,571,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. Plato Investment Management Ltd acquired a new stake in Gildan Activewear during the 4th quarter worth about $28,000. Fifth Third Bancorp increased its position in shares of Gildan Activewear by 61.8% in the fourth quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 872 shares of the textile maker's stock worth $41,000 after acquiring an additional 333 shares in the last quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC raised its holdings in shares of Gildan Activewear by 500.0% during the fourth quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 894 shares of the textile maker's stock valued at $42,000 after acquiring an additional 745 shares during the period. Venturi Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Gildan Activewear by 899.0% in the 4th quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,009 shares of the textile maker's stock valued at $47,000 after acquiring an additional 908 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Rhumbline Advisers lifted its position in shares of Gildan Activewear by 561.9% in the 4th quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 1,423 shares of the textile maker's stock valued at $67,000 after acquiring an additional 1,208 shares in the last quarter. 82.83% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have issued reports on the stock. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Gildan Activewear from $60.00 to $69.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 20th. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on Gildan Activewear from $58.00 to $64.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 20th. Canaccord Genuity Group increased their price objective on Gildan Activewear from $53.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 20th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on Gildan Activewear from $60.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 20th. Finally, Citigroup increased their price target on shares of Gildan Activewear from $59.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 20th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat.com, Gildan Activewear presently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $60.00.

Gildan Activewear Stock Down 4.8 %

Shares of Gildan Activewear stock traded down $2.01 during trading on Friday, hitting $39.78. 1,879,733 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 642,354. The stock has a market cap of $6.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.91, a PEG ratio of 1.76 and a beta of 1.39. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $49.68 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $48.62. Gildan Activewear Inc. has a twelve month low of $32.23 and a twelve month high of $55.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a current ratio of 2.22.

Gildan Activewear (NYSE:GIL - Get Free Report) TSE: GIL last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 19th. The textile maker reported $0.83 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.13 by ($0.30). The business had revenue of $822.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $805.75 million. Gildan Activewear had a net margin of 12.26% and a return on equity of 28.80%. Gildan Activewear's revenue was up 5.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.75 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that Gildan Activewear Inc. will post 3.48 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Gildan Activewear Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 7th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, March 12th will be given a dividend of $0.226 per share. This represents a $0.90 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.27%. This is an increase from Gildan Activewear's previous quarterly dividend of $0.15. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, March 12th. Gildan Activewear's dividend payout ratio is presently 36.00%.

Gildan Activewear 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.