GAP (NYSE:GAP) Hits New 12-Month Low – Should You Sell?

The Gap, Inc. (NYSE:GAP)’s stock price hit a new 52-week low during trading on Friday . The stock traded as low as $17.01 and last traded at $17.32, with a volume of 2716006 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $17.84.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently commented on the stock. Barclays increased their price target on shares of GAP from $32.00 to $33.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, March 7th. UBS Group reduced their price target on GAP from $26.00 to $25.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 10th. Argus raised shares of GAP from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $27.00 price target for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Telsey Advisory Group reissued a “market perform” rating and issued a $26.00 target price on shares of GAP in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Finally, Robert W. Baird decreased their price target on GAP from $31.00 to $29.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $29.25.

GAP Stock Up 7.2 %

The stock has a market cap of $7.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.86, a P/E/G ratio of 0.94 and a beta of 2.14. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $21.91 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $22.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a current ratio of 1.54.

GAP (NYSE:GAP) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, March 6th. The company reported $0.54 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.36 by $0.18. The firm had revenue of $4.15 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.07 billion. GAP had a net margin of 5.40% and a return on equity of 29.03%. Equities research analysts predict that The Gap, Inc. will post 2.02 earnings per share for the current year.

GAP Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 30th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 9th will be given a dividend of $0.165 per share. This represents a $0.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.45%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 9th. This is an increase from GAP’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.15. GAP’s dividend payout ratio is 29.86%.

Insider Transactions at GAP

In related news, insider Julie Gruber sold 1,537 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $19.59, for a total value of $30,109.83. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 37,395 shares in the company, valued at approximately $732,568.05. This represents a 3.95 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Katrina O’connell sold 80,029 shares of GAP stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $20.35, for a total transaction of $1,628,590.15. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 8,290 shares in the company, valued at approximately $168,701.50. The trade was a 90.61 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 177,495 shares of company stock valued at $3,598,459 in the last three months. 31.00% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

An institutional investor recently bought a new position in GAP stock. California State Teachers Retirement System bought a new stake in The Gap, Inc. (NYSE:GAP) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 209,599 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,953,000. California State Teachers Retirement System owned 0.06% of GAP at the end of the most recent reporting period. 58.81% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

GAP Company Profile

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.