Norges Bank Makes New Investment in Gildan Activewear Inc. (NYSE:GIL)

Norges Bank bought a new stake in Gildan Activewear Inc. (NYSE:GIL - Free Report) TSE: GIL during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 2,069,601 shares of the textile maker's stock, valued at approximately $97,275,000. Norges Bank owned about 1.36% of Gildan Activewear as of its most recent SEC filing.

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

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Gildan Activewear Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:GIL traded down $3.78 on Thursday, hitting $41.80. The stock had a trading volume of 1,208,531 shares, compared to its average volume of 637,423. The company has a market capitalization of $6.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.76 and a beta of 1.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a current ratio of 2.22. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $49.87 and its 200-day moving average price is $48.67. Gildan Activewear Inc. has a twelve month low of $32.23 and a twelve month high of $55.39.

Gildan Activewear (NYSE:GIL - Get Free Report) TSE: GIL last released its quarterly earnings results 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 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 quarterly revenue was up 5.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.75 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts predict that Gildan Activewear Inc. will post 3.48 earnings per share for the current year.

Gildan Activewear Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 7th. Investors of record on Wednesday, March 12th will be issued a dividend of $0.226 per share. This represents a $0.90 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.16%. This is a boost 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 (DPR) is currently 36.00%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. CIBC boosted their price target on Gildan Activewear from $56.00 to $60.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 20th. Canaccord Genuity Group boosted their price objective on Gildan Activewear from $53.00 to $58.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 20th. Stifel Nicolaus upped 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. Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of Gildan Activewear from $59.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 20th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of Gildan Activewear from $60.00 to $69.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, February 20th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to MarketBeat, Gildan Activewear currently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price 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.