Generali Asset Management SPA SGR Acquires Shares of 55,977 Gildan Activewear Inc. (NYSE:GIL)

Generali Asset Management SPA SGR acquired a new stake in Gildan Activewear Inc. (NYSE:GIL) (TSE:GIL) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm acquired 55,977 shares of the textile maker’s stock, valued at approximately $2,634,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Fifth Third Bancorp increased its stake in shares of Gildan Activewear by 61.8% during the 4th quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 872 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $41,000 after purchasing an additional 333 shares during the last quarter. Cooper Financial Group increased its stake in shares of Gildan Activewear by 2.1% during the 4th quarter. Cooper Financial Group now owns 16,268 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $765,000 after purchasing an additional 340 shares during the last quarter. Plato Investment Management Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Gildan Activewear during the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Willis Investment Counsel increased its stake in shares of Gildan Activewear by 1.8% during the 4th quarter. Willis Investment Counsel now owns 35,167 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $1,655,000 after purchasing an additional 622 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. increased its stake in shares of Gildan Activewear by 80.1% during the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,459 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $69,000 after purchasing an additional 649 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.83% of the company’s stock.

Gildan Activewear Stock Up 0.8 %

Shares of NYSE:GIL opened at $46.77 on Thursday. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $50.72 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $48.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92, a current ratio of 2.22 and a quick ratio of 0.98. Gildan Activewear Inc. has a one year low of $32.23 and a one year high of $55.39. The company has a market cap of $7.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.71, a PEG ratio of 1.76 and a beta of 1.39.

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

Gildan Activewear Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 7th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, March 12th will be issued a $0.226 dividend. This represents a $0.90 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.93%. This is an increase from Gildan Activewear’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.15. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, March 12th. Gildan Activewear’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 36.00%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on GIL shares. CIBC raised 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. UBS Group lifted their price objective 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 lifted their price objective on shares of Gildan Activewear from $58.00 to $64.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 20th. Canaccord Genuity Group lifted their price objective on shares of Gildan Activewear from $53.00 to $58.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 20th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on shares of Gildan Activewear from $60.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 20th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $60.00.

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.