Gildan Activewear, Inc. $GIL Shares Purchased by Principal Financial Group Inc.

Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its stake in Gildan Activewear, Inc. (NYSE:GIL) (TSE:GIL) by 181.3% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,208,040 shares of the textile maker’s stock after buying an additional 778,600 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned 0.65% of Gildan Activewear worth $67,061,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Washburn Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in Gildan Activewear by 3.8% during the fourth quarter. Washburn Capital Management Inc. now owns 4,257 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $266,000 after purchasing an additional 157 shares during the period. Fifth Third Bancorp grew its position in shares of Gildan Activewear by 16.5% in the first quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 1,355 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $75,000 after purchasing an additional 192 shares during the period. Arkadios Wealth Advisors boosted its holdings in Gildan Activewear by 2.2% in the 4th quarter. Arkadios Wealth Advisors now owns 8,787 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $549,000 after buying an additional 193 shares during the last quarter. Tacita Capital Inc increased its position in shares of Gildan Activewear by 1.9% during the fourth quarter. Tacita Capital Inc now owns 11,250 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $704,000 after purchasing an additional 211 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cetera Investment Advisers grew its holdings in shares of Gildan Activewear by 2.1% during the second quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 12,510 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $616,000 after buying an additional 259 shares in the last quarter. 82.83% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Gildan Activewear Stock Performance

Shares of Gildan Activewear stock opened at $53.54 on Friday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $55.49 and its 200-day simple moving average is $60.26. Gildan Activewear, Inc. has a 12 month low of $46.00 and a 12 month high of $73.69. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32, a current ratio of 2.35 and a quick ratio of 1.17. The stock has a market capitalization of $9.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.49 and a beta of 1.11.

Gildan Activewear (NYSE:GIL) (TSE:GIL) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The textile maker reported $0.43 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.36 by $0.07. Gildan Activewear had a net margin of 6.10% and a return on equity of 21.38%. The business had revenue of $1.17 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.14 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.59 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 63.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Gildan Activewear has set its FY 2026 guidance at 4.200-4.400 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Gildan Activewear, Inc. will post 4.25 earnings per share for the current year.

Gildan Activewear Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 15th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 20th were issued a $0.249 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, May 20th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.9%. Gildan Activewear’s payout ratio is presently 58.82%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the company. Scotia cut their price target 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. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Gildan Activewear from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a report on Monday, May 18th. TD Securities reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Gildan Activewear in a research report on Tuesday, June 16th. Scotiabank reaffirmed a “sector outperform” rating and set a $65.00 price objective (down from $72.00) on shares of Gildan Activewear in a research report on Wednesday, June 17th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Gildan Activewear in a report on Wednesday, June 17th. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $78.21.

Gildan Activewear Profile

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.