The Gap, Inc. (NYSE:GAP) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Analysts

The Gap, Inc. (NYSE:GAP) has been assigned a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the fifteen research firms that are covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 12 month target price among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $28.53.

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on GAP. Barclays increased their target price on GAP from $26.00 to $33.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 27th. Citigroup decreased their price objective on GAP from $33.00 to $30.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 30th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on GAP from $30.00 to $27.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. UBS Group dropped their target price on GAP from $29.00 to $27.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 30th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group restated a “hold” rating and issued a $29.00 target price (up from $26.00) on shares of GAP in a research note on Wednesday, May 21st.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Mark Breitbard sold 51,385 shares of GAP stock in a transaction on Friday, May 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $27.00, for a total transaction of $1,387,395.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 123,985 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,347,595. The trade was a 29.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 31.00% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

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

GAP Trading Down 2.6%

NYSE:GAP opened at $19.88 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $7.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.60, a P/E/G ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 2.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a current ratio of 1.71. GAP has a 1 year low of $16.99 and a 1 year high of $29.29. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $22.48 and a 200-day simple moving average of $22.18.

GAP (NYSE:GAP) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 29th. The company reported $0.51 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.44 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $3.46 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.41 billion. GAP had a return on equity of 27.86% and a net margin of 5.80%. The firm’s revenue was up 2.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.41 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that GAP will post 2.02 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

GAP Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 30th. Investors of record on Wednesday, July 9th will be given a dividend of $0.165 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, July 9th. This represents a $0.66 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.32%. GAP’s dividend payout ratio is 28.57%.

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.