Principal Financial Group Inc. Decreases Stake in Gildan Activewear, Inc. $GIL

Principal Financial Group Inc. decreased its holdings in shares of Gildan Activewear, Inc. (NYSE:GIL) (TSE:GIL) by 1.8% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 443,040 shares of the textile maker’s stock after selling 7,960 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned about 0.30% of Gildan Activewear worth $25,600,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans purchased a new stake in Gildan Activewear during the 3rd quarter valued at about $5,516,000. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. lifted its stake in Gildan Activewear by 174.0% in the 3rd quarter. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. now owns 295,269 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $17,603,000 after purchasing an additional 187,487 shares in the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of Gildan Activewear by 45.6% during the 3rd quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 34,697 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $2,005,000 after purchasing an additional 10,864 shares during the last quarter. Truist Financial Corp grew its position in shares of Gildan Activewear by 14.0% in the third quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 23,224 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $1,342,000 after purchasing an additional 2,860 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Intact Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Gildan Activewear by 1.7% in the third quarter. Intact Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,153,759 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $66,661,000 after purchasing an additional 19,196 shares during the last quarter. 82.83% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Gildan Activewear Trading Up 5.4%

Shares of GIL stock opened at $71.27 on Friday. Gildan Activewear, Inc. has a 1-year low of $37.16 and a 1-year high of $71.68. The firm has a market cap of $13.20 billion, a PE ratio of 22.77 and a beta of 1.08. The company has a 50-day moving average of $63.17 and a two-hundred day moving average of $58.69. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94, a current ratio of 2.01 and a quick ratio of 0.88.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

GIL has been the subject of several analyst reports. Barclays restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $70.00 target price (up from $64.00) on shares of Gildan Activewear in a report on Thursday, October 30th. Citigroup lowered shares of Gildan Activewear from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $60.00 to $63.00 in a report on Monday, October 20th. Desjardins raised their price objective on shares of Gildan Activewear from $80.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, October 27th. National Bankshares boosted their target price on shares of Gildan Activewear from $92.00 to $97.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, February 2nd. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Gildan Activewear in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Gildan Activewear presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $77.54.

About Gildan Activewear

Gildan Activewear Inc (NYSE:GIL) is a vertically integrated manufacturer and wholesaler of branded basic apparel, including activewear, socks, hosiery and underwear. Headquartered in Montreal, Quebec, the company produces a wide range of products such as T-shirts, fleece garments, sport shirts, performance wear, and shapewear under its Gildan, Anvil, Comfort Colors, Gold Toe, Peds and Silks brands. Leveraging its in-house knitting, dyeing, cut-and-sew and finishing operations, Gildan supplies blank apparel to screen printers, promotional product distributors and major retailers around the world.

Since its founding in 1984 by Glenn J.