The Gap, Inc. (NYSE:GPS) Receives $21.15 Average Target Price from Brokerages

Shares of The Gap, Inc. (NYSE:GPS) have earned an average recommendation of “Hold” from the fourteen brokerages that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, six have issued a hold recommendation and seven have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year price target among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $21.15.

A number of research firms have issued reports on GPS. StockNews.com raised GAP from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 15th. TheStreet raised GAP from a “c” rating to a “b-” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 7th. Citigroup raised GAP from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $21.00 to $28.00 in a research report on Tuesday, May 7th. Barclays boosted their price target on GAP from $26.00 to $28.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, March 22nd. Finally, KGI Securities boosted their price target on GAP from $9.10 to $25.20 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, March 22nd.

Insider Transactions at GAP

In related news, insider Julie Gruber sold 24,180 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $23.00, for a total value of $556,140.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 1,384 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $31,832. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, CEO Mark Breitbard sold 93,809 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $28.14, for a total transaction of $2,639,785.26. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 141,377 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,978,348.78. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Julie Gruber sold 24,180 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $23.00, for a total transaction of $556,140.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 1,384 shares in the company, valued at $31,832. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 266,723 shares of company stock valued at $6,886,765 over the last three months. 30.81% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. GAMMA Investing LLC acquired a new position in shares of GAP during the 4th quarter worth approximately $42,000. Plato Investment Management Ltd grew its position in shares of GAP by 37.2% during the 1st quarter. Plato Investment Management Ltd now owns 1,965 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $54,000 after purchasing an additional 533 shares in the last quarter. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S acquired a new position in shares of GAP during the 4th quarter worth approximately $73,000. VitalStone Financial LLC acquired a new position in shares of GAP during the 4th quarter worth approximately $197,000. Finally, SVB Wealth LLC acquired a new position in shares of GAP during the 1st quarter worth approximately $207,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 58.81% of the company’s stock.

GAP Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:GPS opened at $20.98 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $7.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.66, a P/E/G ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 2.34. The company has a quick ratio of 0.78, a current ratio of 1.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57. GAP has a 52 week low of $7.22 and a 52 week high of $28.59. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $23.12 and a 200-day simple moving average of $20.91.

GAP (NYSE:GPS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 7th. The apparel retailer reported $0.49 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.20 by $0.29. The business had revenue of $4.30 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.22 billion. GAP had a return on equity of 22.56% and a net margin of 3.37%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned ($0.75) earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that GAP will post 1.38 EPS for the current year.

GAP Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 31st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, July 10th will be given a dividend of $0.15 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, July 10th. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.86%. GAP’s dividend payout ratio is 44.78%.

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.