GAP (NYSE:GPS) Stock Price Up 3.2%

The Gap, Inc. (NYSE:GPS) shares were up 3.2% on Thursday . The company traded as high as $21.25 and last traded at $21.21. Approximately 2,426,061 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 67% from the average daily volume of 7,272,107 shares. The stock had previously closed at $20.55.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. TheStreet raised GAP from a “c” rating to a “b-” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 7th. Robert W. Baird increased their price target on GAP to $23.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, March 22nd. Telsey Advisory Group restated a “market perform” rating and set a $22.00 target price on shares of GAP in a research note on Friday. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on GAP from $24.00 to $25.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 25th. Finally, Citigroup upgraded GAP from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the company from $21.00 to $28.00 in a research note on Tuesday, May 7th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, GAP has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $21.15.

GAP Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57, a current ratio of 1.42 and a quick ratio of 0.78. The stock has a market cap of $7.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.66, a PEG ratio of 1.26 and a beta of 2.34. The company has a fifty day moving average of $23.12 and a 200 day moving average of $20.86.

GAP (NYSE:GPS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 7th. The apparel retailer reported $0.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.20 by $0.29. The firm had revenue of $4.30 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.22 billion. GAP had a net margin of 3.37% and a return on equity of 22.56%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 1.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted ($0.75) earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that The Gap, Inc. will post 1.38 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

GAP Announces Dividend

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other GAP news, insider Julie Gruber sold 24,180 shares of GAP stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $23.00, for a total transaction of $556,140.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 1,384 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $31,832. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In other GAP news, insider Julie Gruber sold 24,180 shares of GAP stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $23.00, for a total transaction of $556,140.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 1,384 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $31,832. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Mark Breitbard sold 27,222 shares of GAP stock in a transaction on Friday, March 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $28.18, for a total transaction of $767,115.96. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 123,985 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,493,897.30. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 266,723 shares of company stock worth $6,886,765. Corporate insiders own 30.81% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. GAMMA Investing LLC acquired a new position in GAP during the 4th quarter worth $42,000. Plato Investment Management Ltd increased its holdings 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 during the period. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S bought a new position in shares of GAP during the 4th quarter worth about $73,000. VitalStone Financial LLC bought a new position in shares of GAP during the 4th quarter worth about $197,000. Finally, SVB Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of GAP during the 1st quarter worth about $207,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 58.81% of the company’s stock.

About GAP

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.