Pictet Asset Management Holding SA Has $3.70 Million Stake in Gildan Activewear Inc. (NYSE:GIL)

Pictet Asset Management Holding SA boosted its position in shares of Gildan Activewear Inc. (NYSE:GIL) (TSE:GIL) by 6.9% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 78,548 shares of the textile maker’s stock after purchasing an additional 5,089 shares during the period. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA’s holdings in Gildan Activewear were worth $3,695,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Gildan Activewear during the fourth quarter valued at $97,275,000. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. grew its stake in Gildan Activewear by 604.1% during the 4th quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 1,850,971 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $86,999,000 after acquiring an additional 1,588,071 shares in the last quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc increased its holdings in shares of Gildan Activewear by 545.1% in the 4th quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 1,210,314 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $57,403,000 after purchasing an additional 1,022,695 shares during the period. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC acquired a new position in shares of Gildan Activewear in the 3rd quarter valued at about $24,262,000. Finally, Bahl & Gaynor Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Gildan Activewear by 192.7% during the fourth quarter. Bahl & Gaynor Inc. now owns 742,149 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $34,918,000 after purchasing an additional 488,602 shares during the period. 82.83% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Gildan Activewear Stock Down 4.8 %

Shares of GIL stock opened at $39.78 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $49.46 and its 200 day simple moving average is $48.58. Gildan Activewear Inc. has a twelve month low of $32.23 and a twelve month high of $55.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a current ratio of 2.22. The company has a market capitalization of $6.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.91, a PEG ratio of 1.76 and a beta of 1.39.

Gildan Activewear (NYSE:GIL) (TSE:GIL) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 19th. The textile maker reported $0.83 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.13 by ($0.30). The firm had revenue of $822.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $805.75 million. Gildan Activewear had a net margin of 12.26% and a return on equity of 28.80%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.75 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that Gildan Activewear Inc. will post 3.48 EPS for the current year.

Gildan Activewear Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 7th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, March 12th will be issued a dividend of $0.226 per share. This represents a $0.90 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.27%. This is a boost from Gildan Activewear’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.15. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, March 12th. Gildan Activewear’s dividend payout ratio is 36.00%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have weighed in on the stock. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on shares of Gildan Activewear from $58.00 to $64.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 20th. Canaccord Genuity Group increased their price objective on Gildan Activewear from $53.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 20th. Citigroup upped their target price on Gildan Activewear from $59.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 20th. UBS Group lifted their price target on Gildan Activewear from $60.00 to $69.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 20th. Finally, CIBC increased their price objective on Gildan Activewear from $56.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 20th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $60.00.

Gildan Activewear 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.