Stock Traders Purchase High Volume of Put Options on Gildan Activewear (NYSE:GIL)

Gildan Activewear, Inc. (NYSE:GIL) (TSE:GIL) saw unusually large options trading on Wednesday. Stock investors purchased 5,005 put options on the company. This represents an increase of approximately 734% compared to the average volume of 600 put options.

Institutional Trading of Gildan Activewear

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Islay Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Gildan Activewear during the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Webster Bank N. A. acquired a new position in Gildan Activewear in the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Larson Financial Group LLC grew its stake in shares of Gildan Activewear by 3,516.7% in the 4th quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 434 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 422 shares during the period. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd increased its holdings in shares of Gildan Activewear by 14,833.3% during the 4th quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 448 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 445 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nisa Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Gildan Activewear during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $32,000. 82.83% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Gildan Activewear Price Performance

GIL stock traded down $0.56 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $51.18. The stock had a trading volume of 650,409 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,404,748. Gildan Activewear has a 52-week low of $46.00 and a 52-week high of $73.69. The company has a current ratio of 2.35, a quick ratio of 1.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $54.74 and its 200 day simple moving average is $59.65. The company has a market cap of $9.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.11 and a beta of 1.11.

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

Gildan Activewear Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 15th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 20th were paid a dividend of $0.249 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, May 20th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.9%. Gildan Activewear’s payout ratio is 58.24%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently commented on GIL. Zacks Research upgraded Gildan Activewear from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Scotia cut their price target on shares of Gildan Activewear from $72.00 to $65.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, June 17th. UBS Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Gildan Activewear in a report on Friday, July 17th. TD Securities reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Gildan Activewear in a research note on Tuesday, June 16th. Finally, Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce restated an “outperform” rating and set a $77.00 price target on shares of Gildan Activewear in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $78.21.

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.