GAP (NYSE:GPS) PT Raised to $25.00

GAP (NYSE:GPS) had its target price raised by The Goldman Sachs Group from $24.00 to $25.00 in a report released on Thursday morning, Benzinga reports. They currently have a buy rating on the apparel retailer’s stock.

Other equities research analysts also recently issued research reports about the company. KGI Securities raised their price target on GAP from $9.10 to $25.20 and gave the company a buy rating in a report on Friday, March 22nd. Barclays increased their target price on GAP from $26.00 to $28.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a research note on Friday, March 22nd. Cowen boosted their price target on GAP from $19.00 to $21.00 and gave the company a market perform rating in a research note on Friday, March 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of GAP from $24.00 to $25.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a research report on Friday, March 22nd. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group increased their price objective on shares of GAP from $17.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock a market perform rating in a research note on Friday, March 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of Hold and an average target price of $18.95.

GAP Stock Up 4.5 %

NYSE GPS traded up $0.90 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $21.12. 3,214,330 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 7,466,563. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a current ratio of 1.42. GAP has a one year low of $7.22 and a one year high of $28.59. The company’s 50-day moving average is $22.57 and its two-hundred day moving average is $19.52. The company has a market capitalization of $7.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.23 and a beta of 2.28.

GAP (NYSE:GPS) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, March 7th. The apparel retailer reported $0.49 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.20 by $0.29. The business had revenue of $4.30 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.22 billion. GAP had a net margin of 3.37% and a return on equity of 22.56%. The firm’s revenue was up 1.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted ($0.75) earnings per share. On average, analysts forecast that GAP will post 1.36 EPS for the current fiscal year.

GAP Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 1st. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 10th will be given a dividend of $0.15 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 9th. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.84%. GAP’s payout ratio is currently 44.78%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other GAP news, insider Sarah Gilligan sold 29,425 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $22.58, for a total value of $664,416.50. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 1,697 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $38,318.26. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other news, insider Sarah Gilligan sold 29,425 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $22.58, for a total value of $664,416.50. Following the sale, the insider now owns 1,697 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $38,318.26. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Julie Gruber sold 9,414 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $27.94, for a total transaction of $263,027.16. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 1,384 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $38,668.96. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 266,723 shares of company stock valued at $6,886,765. 30.81% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of GAP

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Hennessy Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in GAP by 14.1% during the 1st quarter. Hennessy Advisors Inc. now owns 2,305,600 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $63,519,000 after acquiring an additional 285,000 shares during the period. BNP Paribas Financial Markets increased its stake in GAP by 33.0% in the 4th quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 367,130 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $7,677,000 after acquiring an additional 91,151 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its holdings in shares of GAP by 2.9% in the 3rd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 2,906,701 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $30,898,000 after acquiring an additional 80,792 shares in the last quarter. Polianta Ltd bought a new stake in shares of GAP during the 4th quarter valued at about $968,000. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC grew its holdings in shares of GAP by 266.4% during the fourth quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 48,820 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $1,021,000 after purchasing an additional 35,495 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 58.81% of the company’s stock.

GAP Company Profile

The Gap, Inc operates as an apparel retail company. The company offers apparel, accessories, and personal care products for men, women, and children under the Old Navy, Gap, Banana Republic, and Athleta brands. Its products include adult apparel and accessories; and fitness and lifestyle products for use in yoga, training, sports, travel, and everyday activities for women and girls.