Gildan Activewear Inc. (GIL) to Issue Quarterly Dividend of $0.23 on April 7th

Gildan Activewear Inc. (NYSE:GIL) (TSE:GIL) declared a quarterly dividend on Tuesday, February 18th, Wall Street Journal reports. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, March 12th will be given a dividend of 0.226 per share by the textile maker on Monday, April 7th. This represents a $0.90 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.64%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, March 12th. This is an increase from Gildan Activewear’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.15.

Gildan Activewear has raised its dividend by an average of 21.1% per year over the last three years. Gildan Activewear has a payout ratio of 20.9% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Research analysts expect Gildan Activewear to earn $3.38 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $0.82 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 24.3%.

Gildan Activewear Stock Up 2.2 %

NYSE:GIL traded up $1.19 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $55.09. 747,166 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 531,408. Gildan Activewear has a 12-month low of $32.23 and a 12-month high of $55.12. The business has a 50-day moving average of $49.34 and a two-hundred day moving average of $47.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a current ratio of 2.31. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.38 billion, a PE ratio of 21.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 1.41.

Gildan Activewear (NYSE:GIL) (TSE:GIL) last issued its 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). The business had revenue of $822.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $805.75 million. Gildan Activewear had a return on equity of 26.88% and a net margin of 13.06%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.75 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Gildan Activewear will post 2.97 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently commented on GIL. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on shares of Gildan Activewear from $58.00 to $64.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday. UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of Gildan Activewear from $60.00 to $69.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday. Canaccord Genuity Group lifted their target price on shares of Gildan Activewear from $53.00 to $58.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday. CIBC boosted their price target on shares of Gildan Activewear from $56.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday. Finally, 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 report on Thursday. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus 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.