Gildan Activewear Inc. (NYSE:GIL) Sees Significant Growth in Short Interest

Gildan Activewear Inc. (NYSE:GIL – Get Rating) (TSE:GIL) was the recipient of a large growth in short interest in April. As of April 30th, there was short interest totalling 1,760,000 shares, a growth of 30.4% from the April 15th total of 1,350,000 shares. Approximately 1.0% of the shares of the company are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 644,600 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.7 days.

Gildan Activewear stock traded up $0.36 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $31.58. 913,987 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 659,795. The stock has a market cap of $5.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.43, a PEG ratio of 1.16 and a beta of 1.43. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $35.48 and its 200-day moving average is $38.68. The company has a quick ratio of 1.54, a current ratio of 3.33 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50. Gildan Activewear has a 12 month low of $29.17 and a 12 month high of $43.63.

Gildan Activewear (NYSE:GIL – Get Rating) (TSE:GIL) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, May 4th. The textile maker reported $0.76 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.50 by $0.26. Gildan Activewear had a return on equity of 31.46% and a net margin of 21.07%. The firm had revenue of $774.90 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $666.81 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.48 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 31.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts predict that Gildan Activewear will post 2.97 EPS for the current fiscal year.

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 20th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 26th will be issued a $0.169 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, May 25th. This represents a $0.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.14%. Gildan Activewear’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 20.30%.

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in GIL. Principal Financial Group Inc. purchased a new position in Gildan Activewear in the first quarter worth about $114,818,000. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Gildan Activewear in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $82,805,000. Clark Capital Management Group Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Gildan Activewear in the 1st quarter worth approximately $31,558,000. Alberta Investment Management Corp increased its position in shares of Gildan Activewear by 97.9% during the 4th quarter. Alberta Investment Management Corp now owns 1,360,969 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $57,783,000 after purchasing an additional 673,265 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its holdings in Gildan Activewear by 230.3% during the 4th quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 958,375 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $40,625,000 after buying an additional 668,192 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.31% of the company’s stock.

Several research firms have recently commented on GIL. Desjardins decreased their price objective on Gildan Activewear from C$63.00 to C$55.00 in a research note on Friday, May 6th. National Bank Financial dropped their price target on shares of Gildan Activewear from C$65.00 to C$64.00 in a research report on Wednesday, March 30th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Gildan Activewear from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday. TD Securities upped their target price on shares of Gildan Activewear from $50.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 24th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on Gildan Activewear from $51.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 5th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $49.82.

About Gildan Activewear (Get Rating)

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, Comfort Colors, American Apparel, Alstyle, and GoldToe brands.

Featured Articles