GAP (NYSE:GAP) Reaches New 12-Month High on Analyst Upgrade

The Gap, Inc. (NYSE:GAP)’s stock price hit a new 52-week high during trading on Tuesday after JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on the stock from $25.00 to $29.00. JPMorgan Chase & Co. currently has an overweight rating on the stock. GAP traded as high as $28.08 and last traded at $27.98, with a volume of 6535908 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $27.39.

Other equities research analysts have also issued reports about the stock. Wells Fargo & Company lowered shares of GAP from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $30.00 to $24.00 in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Telsey Advisory Group restated a “market perform” rating and set a $26.00 target price on shares of GAP in a research report on Friday, March 7th. UBS Group dropped their target price on shares of GAP from $26.00 to $25.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, March 10th. Barclays decreased their price target on GAP from $33.00 to $26.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, May 12th. Finally, Argus raised GAP from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $27.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $27.21.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Sarah Gilligan sold 29,813 shares of the company’s 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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 2,634 shares in the company, valued at approximately $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 can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Katrina O’connell sold 80,029 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $20.35, for a total value of $1,628,590.15. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly 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 228,880 shares of company stock valued at $4,985,854 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 30.56% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On GAP

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of GAP. Dodge & Cox purchased a new stake in shares of GAP during the 1st quarter worth about $592,222,000. Ameriprise Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in GAP during the 1st quarter worth approximately $63,674,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp acquired a new stake in GAP in the first quarter valued at $56,763,000. LSV Asset Management bought a new position in shares of GAP during the first quarter worth about $32,655,000. Finally, Rhumbline Advisers bought a new position in GAP during the 1st quarter worth approximately $12,210,000. 58.81% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

GAP Trading Up 2.2%

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a current ratio of 1.54 and a quick ratio of 0.84. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $21.17 and its 200 day simple moving average is $22.57. The stock has a market cap of $10.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.95, a P/E/G ratio of 0.94 and a beta of 2.24.

GAP (NYSE:GAP) last issued 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 the consensus estimate of $4.07 billion. GAP had a return on equity of 29.03% and a net margin of 5.40%. On average, research analysts predict that The Gap, Inc. will post 2.02 EPS for the current year.

GAP Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 30th. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 9th were issued a $0.165 dividend. This represents a $0.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.36%. This is a positive change from GAP’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.15. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, April 9th. GAP’s dividend payout ratio is 29.86%.

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.