The Goldman Sachs Group Cuts GAP (NYSE:GAP) Price Target to $25.00

GAP (NYSE:GAP) had its price objective reduced by The Goldman Sachs Group from $34.00 to $25.00 in a report issued on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The Goldman Sachs Group currently has a buy rating on the stock.

Several other equities research analysts also recently issued reports on the stock. Telsey Advisory Group restated a “market perform” rating and set a $26.00 price objective on shares of GAP in a research report on Friday, March 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on GAP from $30.00 to $25.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Argus upgraded GAP from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $27.00 price target for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Robert W. Baird lowered their price objective on GAP from $31.00 to $29.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Finally, Citigroup dropped their target price on GAP from $32.00 to $22.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $28.07.

GAP Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE GAP opened at $20.78 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.54, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47. The company has a market capitalization of $7.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.62, a P/E/G ratio of 0.94 and a beta of 2.15. GAP has a 12 month low of $16.99 and a 12 month high of $26.41. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $20.57 and a 200-day moving average of $22.29.

GAP (NYSE:GAP) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 6th. The company reported $0.54 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.36 by $0.18. The firm had revenue of $4.15 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.07 billion. GAP had a net margin of 5.40% and a return on equity of 29.03%. As a group, equities research analysts predict that GAP will post 2.02 EPS for the current year.

GAP Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 30th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 9th will be issued a dividend of $0.165 per share. This is a boost from GAP’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.15. This represents a $0.66 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.18%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 9th. GAP’s payout ratio is 29.86%.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Sarah Gilligan sold 29,813 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, March 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $20.34, for a total value of $606,396.42. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 2,634 shares in the company, valued at $53,575.56. This represents a 91.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Elisabeth B. Donohue sold 3,539 shares of GAP stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $21.04, for a total value of $74,460.56. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 4,000 shares in the company, valued at $84,160. The trade was a 46.94 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 177,495 shares of company stock valued at $3,598,459 over the last quarter. 31.00% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of GAP

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. FNY Investment Advisers LLC acquired a new position in shares of GAP in the 1st quarter worth approximately $91,000. Hennessy Advisors Inc. bought a new position in GAP during the first quarter worth $7,422,000. Polianta Ltd acquired a new position in GAP in the first quarter valued at $1,150,000. Handelsbanken Fonder AB bought a new stake in GAP during the first quarter valued at $1,107,000. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC acquired a new stake in GAP during the 1st quarter worth about $3,519,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 58.81% of the company’s stock.

About GAP

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.