GAP (NYSE:GPS) Upgraded to “Buy” at Citigroup

GAP (NYSE:GPS) was upgraded by equities research analysts at Citigroup from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a note issued to investors on Tuesday, Marketbeat Ratings reports. The brokerage currently has a $28.00 target price on the apparel retailer’s stock, up from their previous target price of $21.00. Citigroup’s target price points to a potential upside of 24.97% from the stock’s current price.

GPS has been the topic of several other reports. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on shares of GAP from $24.00 to $25.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 25th. TheStreet raised GAP from a “c” rating to a “b-” rating in a report on Thursday, March 7th. Telsey Advisory Group boosted their price target on GAP from $17.00 to $22.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, March 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded GAP from an “underweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $16.00 to $20.00 in a research note on Monday, February 26th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on shares of GAP from $14.00 to $18.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, March 22nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $20.39.

GAP Trading Up 1.3 %

GAP stock opened at $22.41 on Tuesday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $22.92 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $20.19. 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 12 month low of $7.22 and a 12 month high of $28.59. The stock has a market cap of $8.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.33 and a beta of 2.34.

GAP (NYSE:GPS) last issued its earnings results 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 analyst estimates of $4.22 billion. GAP had a return on equity of 22.56% and a net margin of 3.37%. GAP’s revenue was up 1.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted ($0.75) earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts forecast that GAP will post 1.36 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Sarah Gilligan sold 29,425 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $22.58, for a total value of $664,416.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 1,697 shares in the company, valued at approximately $38,318.26. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, insider Sarah Gilligan sold 29,425 shares of GAP stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $22.58, for a total value of $664,416.50. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 1,697 shares in the company, valued at $38,318.26. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available 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 value of $556,140.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 1,384 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $31,832. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 266,723 shares of company stock valued at $6,886,765 over the last three months. 31.00% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On GAP

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division bought a new stake in shares of GAP during the 1st quarter valued at $335,000. New York State Teachers Retirement System grew its stake in shares of GAP by 2.7% during the first quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System now owns 270,730 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $7,459,000 after purchasing an additional 7,055 shares during the period. Hennessy Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in 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 last quarter. VitalStone Financial LLC acquired a new position in GAP in the fourth quarter valued at about $197,000. Finally, United Services Automobile Association bought a new position in GAP during the fourth quarter worth about $349,000. 58.81% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.