GAP (NYSE:GPS) Shares Gap Up to $22.95

Shares of The Gap, Inc. (NYSE:GPS) gapped up prior to trading on Thursday . The stock had previously closed at $22.95, but opened at $23.75. GAP shares last traded at $23.18, with a volume of 776,969 shares changing hands.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently commented on GPS. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on GAP from $24.00 to $25.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 25th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of GAP from $24.00 to $25.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, March 22nd. Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on shares of GAP from $23.00 to $28.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, May 31st. Bank of America increased their target price on GAP from $15.50 to $18.50 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a report on Friday, May 31st. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on GAP from $18.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, May 31st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $26.11.

GAP Stock Down 1.2 %

The business’s fifty day moving average price is $23.85 and its 200 day moving average price is $22.32. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.75, a PEG ratio of 4.09 and a beta of 2.38. The company has a current ratio of 1.50, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55.

GAP (NYSE:GPS) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 30th. The apparel retailer reported $0.41 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.14 by $0.27. GAP had a net margin of 4.52% and a return on equity of 27.57%. The company had revenue of $3.39 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.29 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.01 EPS. GAP’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts expect that The Gap, Inc. will post 1.74 EPS for the current year.

GAP Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 31st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, July 10th will be paid a dividend of $0.15 per share. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.65%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, July 10th. GAP’s dividend payout ratio is presently 33.33%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CFO Katrina O’connell sold 20,000 shares of GAP stock in a transaction on Friday, May 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $29.01, for a total value of $580,200.00. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, Director Tracy Gardner sold 2,934 shares of GAP stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $23.48, for a total value of $68,890.32. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 51,901 shares in the company, valued at $1,218,635.48. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO Katrina O’connell sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, May 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $29.01, for a total value of $580,200.00. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 23,132 shares of company stock valued at $654,003. 30.81% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On GAP

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Hennessy Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in shares of GAP by 14.1% in the first quarter. Hennessy Advisors Inc. now owns 2,305,600 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $63,519,000 after purchasing an additional 285,000 shares during the period. BNP Paribas Financial Markets lifted its position in shares of GAP by 33.0% during the 4th quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 367,130 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $7,677,000 after acquiring an additional 91,151 shares during the period. New York State Teachers Retirement System lifted its position in shares of GAP by 2.7% during the 1st quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System now owns 270,730 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $7,459,000 after acquiring an additional 7,055 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC purchased a new stake in shares of GAP during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $5,643,000. Finally, Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky grew its holdings in shares of GAP by 90.6% in the 3rd quarter. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky now owns 74,080 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $787,000 after acquiring an additional 35,223 shares during the period. 58.81% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.