Korea Investment CORP Has $10.42 Million Position in Gildan Activewear Inc. (NYSE:GIL)

Korea Investment CORP grew its holdings in Gildan Activewear Inc. (NYSE:GIL) (TSE:GIL) by 164.0% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 221,591 shares of the textile maker’s stock after acquiring an additional 137,661 shares during the period. Korea Investment CORP’s holdings in Gildan Activewear were worth $10,423,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Fifth Third Bancorp raised its position in Gildan Activewear by 61.8% in the fourth quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 872 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $41,000 after purchasing an additional 333 shares in the last quarter. Cooper Financial Group grew its stake in shares of Gildan Activewear by 2.1% in the 4th quarter. Cooper Financial Group now owns 16,268 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $765,000 after purchasing an additional 340 shares during the period. TD Private Client Wealth LLC raised its holdings in shares of Gildan Activewear by 19.1% in the 4th quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC now owns 3,069 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $144,000 after buying an additional 492 shares in the last quarter. Plato Investment Management Ltd bought a new position in shares of Gildan Activewear during the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Finally, Willis Investment Counsel boosted its stake in Gildan Activewear by 1.8% in the 4th quarter. Willis Investment Counsel now owns 35,167 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $1,655,000 after buying an additional 622 shares in the last quarter. 82.83% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Gildan Activewear Price Performance

Shares of GIL stock opened at $44.94 on Monday. Gildan Activewear Inc. has a 1 year low of $32.23 and a 1 year high of $55.39. The company has a current ratio of 2.22, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $50.21 and its 200-day moving average is $48.69. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.98, a PEG ratio of 1.76 and a beta of 1.39.

Gildan Activewear (NYSE:GIL) (TSE:GIL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 19th. The textile maker reported $0.83 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.13 by ($0.30). The company had revenue of $822.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $805.75 million. Gildan Activewear had a return on equity of 28.80% and a net margin of 12.26%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.75 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Gildan Activewear Inc. will post 3.48 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Gildan Activewear Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 7th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, March 12th will be paid a dividend of $0.226 per share. This represents a $0.90 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.01%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, March 12th. This is a positive change from Gildan Activewear’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.15. Gildan Activewear’s dividend payout ratio is 36.00%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

GIL has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Citigroup increased their price objective on Gildan Activewear from $59.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 20th. Canaccord Genuity Group increased their target price on shares of Gildan Activewear from $53.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 20th. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Gildan Activewear from $60.00 to $69.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 20th. CIBC upped their price objective on shares of Gildan Activewear from $56.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 20th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on shares of Gildan Activewear from $58.00 to $64.00 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, According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target 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.