Generali Asset Management SPA SGR Invests $2.63 Million in Gildan Activewear Inc. (NYSE:GIL)

Generali Asset Management SPA SGR acquired a new position in shares of Gildan Activewear Inc. (NYSE:GIL) (TSE:GIL) in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund acquired 55,977 shares of the textile maker’s stock, valued at approximately $2,634,000.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Fifth Third Bancorp lifted its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 333 shares during the last quarter. Cooper Financial Group lifted its stake in Gildan Activewear by 2.1% in the fourth 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 bought a new stake in Gildan Activewear in the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Willis Investment Counsel lifted its stake in Gildan Activewear by 1.8% in the fourth 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. lifted its stake in Gildan Activewear by 80.1% in the fourth 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. 82.83% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Gildan Activewear Price Performance

GIL stock opened at $46.77 on Thursday. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $50.72 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $48.63. Gildan Activewear Inc. has a 12-month low of $32.23 and a 12-month high of $55.39. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.71, a PEG ratio of 1.76 and a beta of 1.39. The company has a current ratio of 2.22, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92.

Gildan Activewear (NYSE:GIL) (TSE:GIL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 19th. The textile maker reported $0.83 earnings per share (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 company had revenue of $822.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $805.75 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.75 EPS. Gildan Activewear’s quarterly revenue was up 5.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts predict that Gildan Activewear Inc. will post 3.48 earnings per share for the current year.

Gildan Activewear Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 7th. Investors of record on Wednesday, March 12th will be given a dividend of $0.226 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, March 12th. This represents a $0.90 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.93%. This is a boost from Gildan Activewear’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.15. Gildan Activewear’s payout ratio is currently 36.00%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have weighed in on GIL. Canaccord Genuity Group boosted their price target on shares of Gildan Activewear from $53.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 20th. TD Securities boosted their price target on shares of Gildan Activewear from $62.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 20th. Citigroup boosted their price target on shares of Gildan Activewear from $59.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 20th. UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of Gildan Activewear from $60.00 to $69.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 20th. Finally, CIBC boosted their price objective on shares of Gildan Activewear from $56.00 to $60.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 20th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price 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.