The Gap, Inc. (NYSE:GPS) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Hold” by Analysts

The Gap, Inc. (NYSE:GPS) has been assigned an average rating of “Hold” from the fourteen brokerages that are covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, seven have assigned a hold recommendation and six have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month target price among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $18.95.

A number of research analysts have commented on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded GAP from an “underweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $16.00 to $20.00 in a research note on Monday, February 26th. TheStreet upgraded GAP from a “c” rating to a “b-” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 7th. Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on GAP from $22.00 to $24.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, March 22nd. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on GAP from $14.00 to $18.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, March 22nd. Finally, 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 note on Thursday.

GAP Price Performance

Shares of GAP stock opened at $21.35 on Friday. GAP has a twelve month low of $7.22 and a twelve month high of $28.59. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.93, a PEG ratio of 1.23 and a beta of 2.28. The company has a current ratio of 1.42, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $22.57 and its 200 day moving average price is $19.52.

GAP (NYSE:GPS) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, March 7th. The apparel retailer reported $0.49 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.20 by $0.29. GAP had a return on equity of 22.56% and a net margin of 3.37%. The firm had revenue of $4.30 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.22 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned ($0.75) earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts anticipate that GAP will post 1.36 earnings per share for the current year.

GAP Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 1st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 10th will be paid a dividend of $0.15 per share. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.81%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 9th. GAP’s payout ratio is currently 44.78%.

Insider Buying and Selling at GAP

In other GAP news, CFO Katrina O’connell sold 2,724 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $23.70, for a total transaction of $64,558.80. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other GAP news, insider Julie Gruber sold 24,180 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $23.00, for a total transaction of $556,140.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 1,384 shares in the company, valued at $31,832. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CFO Katrina O’connell sold 2,724 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $23.70, for a total value of $64,558.80. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 266,723 shares of company stock worth $6,886,765 over the last quarter. 30.81% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of GAP

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. GAMMA Investing LLC acquired a new stake in shares of GAP during the 4th quarter worth approximately $42,000. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC raised its position in shares of GAP by 317.5% during the 3rd quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 2,793 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 2,124 shares during the period. New York State Teachers Retirement System raised its position in shares of GAP by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System now owns 263,675 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $5,513,000 after purchasing an additional 3,109 shares during the period. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S acquired a new stake in shares of GAP during the 4th quarter worth approximately $73,000. Finally, Nisa Investment Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of GAP by 11.3% during the 4th quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 41,265 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $863,000 after purchasing an additional 4,200 shares during the period. 58.81% of the stock is currently 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.