GAP (NYSE:GAP) Shares Break Above 50-Day Moving Average – Here’s What Happened

The Gap, Inc. (NYSE:GAP)’s share price passed above its 50 day moving average during trading on Thursday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $22.08 and traded as high as $23.03. GAP shares last traded at $22.8970, with a volume of 4,588,682 shares changing hands.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have commented on GAP shares. BTIG Research increased their price objective on shares of GAP from $26.00 to $27.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 28th. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of GAP from $21.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 28th. Bank of America upped their target price on shares of GAP from $26.00 to $27.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, August 28th. UBS Group increased their price target on shares of GAP from $40.00 to $42.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 28th. Finally, TD Cowen raised their price target on shares of GAP from $23.00 to $27.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 28th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Buy rating, thirteen have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $27.07.

GAP Trading Up 4.1%

The company has a market cap of $8.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.83, a P/E/G ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 2.05. The company has a quick ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 1.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $22.08 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $23.18.

GAP (NYSE:GAP) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 27th. The company reported $0.52 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.48 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $3.65 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.69 billion. GAP had a return on equity of 19.72% and a net margin of 8.14%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.57 earnings per share. GAP has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.350-2.450 EPS. On average, analysts predict that The Gap, Inc. will post 2.40 EPS for the current year.

GAP Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, October 28th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, October 7th were issued a dividend of $0.1750 per share. This represents a $0.70 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, October 7th. GAP’s payout ratio is currently 20.90%.

Insider Transactions at GAP

In other news, Director William Fisher sold 500,000 shares of GAP stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $23.89, for a total transaction of $11,945,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 15,903,198 shares in the company, valued at $379,927,400.22. The trade was a 3.05% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, insider Julie Gruber sold 27,538 shares of GAP stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $23.56, for a total transaction of $648,795.28. Following the sale, the insider owned 30,876 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $727,438.56. This represents a 47.14% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 1,027,538 shares of company stock worth $24,249,556. Corporate insiders own 31.00% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On GAP

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new stake in GAP during the 2nd quarter worth $428,824,000. Bank of America Corp DE bought a new stake in shares of GAP during the 2nd quarter valued at $30,345,000. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of GAP during the 2nd quarter valued at $12,794,000. Empowered Funds LLC acquired a new position in shares of GAP in the 2nd quarter valued at $12,180,000. Finally, Ieq Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of GAP in the 2nd quarter valued at $10,911,000. 58.81% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About GAP

Gap, Inc operates as a global apparel retail company, which offers clothing, apparel, accessories, and personal care products for men, women, and children. The firm operates through the following segments: Gap Global, Old Navy Global, Banana Republic Global, Athleta, and Other. The Gap Global segment includes apparel and accessories for men and women under the Gap brand, along with the GapKids, BabyGap, GapMaternity, GapBody, and GapFit collections. The Old Navy Global segment offers clothing and accessories for adults and children.