Gildan Activewear (NYSE:GIL) Trading 7% Higher After Strong Earnings

Gildan Activewear, Inc. (NYSE:GIL) (TSE:GIL) shares traded up 7% during mid-day trading on Friday following a better than expected earnings announcement. The company traded as high as $56.11 and last traded at $56.19. 1,381,957 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 3% from the average daily volume of 1,428,779 shares. The stock had previously closed at $52.50.

The textile maker reported $1.28 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.11 by $0.17. Gildan Activewear had a return on equity of 21.38% and a net margin of 6.10%.The firm had revenue of $1.58 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.61 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.97 earnings per share. Gildan Activewear’s revenue for the quarter was up 72.3% on a year-over-year basis.

Gildan Activewear Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 14th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 20th will be issued a $0.249 dividend. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 20th. Gildan Activewear’s dividend payout ratio is 58.82%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently issued reports on GIL. Royal Bank Of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $82.00 target price on shares of Gildan Activewear in a research report on Friday. Zacks Research raised Gildan Activewear from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Scotiabank reiterated a “sector outperform” rating and set a $67.00 price objective (up from $65.00) on shares of Gildan Activewear in a research note on Friday. Scotia decreased their price objective on Gildan Activewear from $72.00 to $65.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, June 17th. Finally, TD Securities restated a “buy” rating on shares of Gildan Activewear in a research note on Tuesday, June 16th. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Gildan Activewear presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $78.86.

Institutional Trading of Gildan Activewear

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in GIL. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC raised its position in shares of Gildan Activewear by 14.0% in the second quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC now owns 613,324 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $31,648,000 after acquiring an additional 75,530 shares during the period. Cardinal Capital Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Gildan Activewear by 17.0% during the 2nd quarter. Cardinal Capital Management Inc. now owns 3,026,915 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $155,749,000 after acquiring an additional 440,770 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its stake in shares of Gildan Activewear by 88.7% in the 2nd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 12,208 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $629,000 after purchasing an additional 5,740 shares in the last quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Gildan Activewear by 16.5% in the 2nd quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC now owns 26,684 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $1,377,000 after purchasing an additional 3,780 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc raised its holdings in Gildan Activewear by 14.6% in the 2nd quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 3,566 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $184,000 after purchasing an additional 454 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.83% of the company’s stock.

Gildan Activewear Stock Up 7.1%

The company has a market cap of $10.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.02 and a beta of 1.11. The business has a fifty day moving average of $54.51 and a two-hundred day moving average of $59.48. The company has a current ratio of 2.35, a quick ratio of 1.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32.

About Gildan Activewear

Gildan Activewear Inc (NYSE:GIL) is a vertically integrated manufacturer and wholesaler of branded basic apparel, including activewear, socks, hosiery and underwear. Headquartered in Montreal, Quebec, the company produces a wide range of products such as T-shirts, fleece garments, sport shirts, performance wear, and shapewear under its Gildan, Anvil, Comfort Colors, Gold Toe, Peds and Silks brands. Leveraging its in-house knitting, dyeing, cut-and-sew and finishing operations, Gildan supplies blank apparel to screen printers, promotional product distributors and major retailers around the world.

Since its founding in 1984 by Glenn J.