GAP (NYSE:GPS) Stock Price Up 3.2%

Shares of The Gap, Inc. (NYSE:GPS) rose 3.2% during trading on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $21.25 and last traded at $21.21. Approximately 2,426,061 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 67% from the average daily volume of 7,272,107 shares. The stock had previously closed at $20.55.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on shares of GAP from $24.00 to $25.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 25th. Cowen boosted their target price on shares of GAP from $19.00 to $21.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, March 22nd. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of GAP from $19.00 to $20.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, May 6th. Evercore ISI boosted their price target on shares of GAP from $22.00 to $24.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, March 22nd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on shares of GAP from $14.00 to $18.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, March 22nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, GAP presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $21.15.

GAP Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a current ratio of 1.42. The company has a market cap of $7.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.66, a P/E/G ratio of 1.26 and a beta of 2.34. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $23.12 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $20.86.

GAP (NYSE:GPS) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, March 7th. The apparel retailer reported $0.49 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.20 by $0.29. GAP had a return on equity of 22.56% and a net margin of 3.37%. The business had revenue of $4.30 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.22 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned ($0.75) EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 1.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts predict that The Gap, Inc. will post 1.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

GAP Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 31st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, July 10th will be issued a $0.15 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, July 10th. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.86%. GAP’s payout ratio is currently 44.78%.

Insider Buying and Selling at GAP

In other GAP news, insider Sarah Gilligan sold 29,425 shares of GAP stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $22.58, for a total value of $664,416.50. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 1,697 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $38,318.26. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other GAP news, insider Sarah Gilligan sold 29,425 shares of GAP stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $22.58, for a total transaction of $664,416.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 1,697 shares in the company, valued at $38,318.26. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO Katrina O’connell sold 2,724 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 18th. The stock was 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 a total of 266,723 shares of company stock valued at $6,886,765 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 30.81% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of GAP

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of GPS. California Public Employees Retirement System grew its holdings in GAP by 6.5% during the third quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 368,274 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $3,915,000 after purchasing an additional 22,316 shares during the period. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky boosted its stake in shares of GAP by 90.6% in the third quarter. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky now owns 74,080 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $787,000 after acquiring an additional 35,223 shares during the period. Symmetry Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of GAP in the fourth quarter worth about $443,000. Polianta Ltd bought a new position in shares of GAP in the fourth quarter worth about $968,000. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC boosted its stake in shares of GAP by 266.4% in the fourth quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 48,820 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $1,021,000 after acquiring an additional 35,495 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 58.81% of the company’s stock.

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.