Thrivent Financial for Lutherans Makes New Investment in Gildan Activewear, Inc. $GIL

Thrivent Financial for Lutherans bought a new position in shares of Gildan Activewear, Inc. (NYSE:GIL) (TSE:GIL) during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 95,440 shares of the textile maker’s stock, valued at approximately $5,516,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in GIL. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Gildan Activewear in the second quarter valued at about $101,409,000. Mackenzie Financial Corp boosted its holdings in Gildan Activewear by 61.9% in the 2nd quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 4,434,020 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $218,622,000 after purchasing an additional 1,695,329 shares during the period. Picton Mahoney Asset Management acquired a new stake in Gildan Activewear in the 2nd quarter worth $65,409,000. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company grew its position in Gildan Activewear by 24.3% in the 2nd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 3,678,451 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $180,305,000 after purchasing an additional 718,896 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Gildan Activewear by 40.0% during the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 1,760,253 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $77,838,000 after purchasing an additional 503,359 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.83% of the company’s stock.

Gildan Activewear Trading Up 5.4%

GIL opened at $71.27 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $13.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.77 and a beta of 1.08. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $63.17 and its 200 day simple moving average is $58.69. Gildan Activewear, Inc. has a 12 month low of $37.16 and a 12 month high of $71.68. The company has a current ratio of 2.01, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have commented on the company. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Gildan Activewear in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Barclays reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $70.00 target price (up previously from $64.00) on shares of Gildan Activewear in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. National Bankshares raised their price target on Gildan Activewear from $92.00 to $97.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, February 2nd. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price objective on shares of Gildan Activewear from $68.00 to $71.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, October 27th. Finally, Zacks Research cut Gildan Activewear from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 23rd. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Gildan Activewear presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $77.54.

Gildan Activewear Profile

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.