GAP (NYSE:GAP) Shares Up 4% – Time to Buy?

Shares of The Gap, Inc. (NYSE:GAP) shot up 4% on Monday. The stock traded as high as $22.47 and last traded at $22.6990. 453,667 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 94% from the average daily volume of 7,725,701 shares. The stock had previously closed at $21.82.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of GAP from $20.00 to $23.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 28th. Weiss Ratings cut shares of GAP from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 28th. UBS Group boosted their price target on GAP from $40.00 to $42.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 28th. BMO Capital Markets initiated coverage on GAP in a report on Tuesday, September 8th. They set a “market perform” rating and a $23.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on GAP from $25.00 to $27.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, August 31st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, GAP has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $27.07.

GAP Price Performance

The company has a market cap of $8.13 billion, a PE ratio of 6.91, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.91 and a beta of 2.08. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $20.80 and its 200-day moving average price is $22.03. The company has a quick ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 1.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38.

GAP (NYSE:GAP) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, August 27th. The company reported $0.52 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.48 by $0.04. GAP had a return on equity of 19.72% and a net margin of 8.14%.The company had revenue of $3.65 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.69 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.57 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was down 2.0% on a year-over-year basis. GAP has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.350-2.450 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that The Gap, Inc. will post 2.41 earnings per share for the current year.

GAP Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 28th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, October 7th will be paid a dividend of $0.1750 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, October 7th. This represents a $0.70 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.0%. GAP’s payout ratio is presently 20.90%.

Institutional Trading of GAP

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new position in GAP in the 2nd quarter worth about $428,824,000. Bank of America Corp DE purchased a new stake in GAP during the second quarter valued at about $30,345,000. Miller Howard Investments Inc. NY boosted its holdings in shares of GAP by 112.2% in the first quarter. Miller Howard Investments Inc. NY now owns 1,704,021 shares of the company’s stock worth $41,237,000 after buying an additional 900,855 shares during the period. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of GAP in the second quarter worth approximately $12,794,000. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC purchased a new position in shares of GAP in the second quarter worth approximately $12,180,000. 58.81% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

GAP Company Profile

Gap Inc is an American specialty apparel retailer founded in 1969 by Donald and Doris Fisher in San Francisco, California. The company operates a portfolio of consumer brands focused on clothing, accessories and personal-care products for women, men and children.

Its principal brands include Old Navy, Gap, Banana Republic and Athleta. Products are sold through company-operated stores, franchise locations and digital channels, with offerings spanning casual apparel, denim, activewear, accessories and lifestyle products.

Gap Inc serves customers in North America and selected international markets through its retail and e-commerce operations.