GAP (NYSE:GPS) Shares Gap Down to $24.45

Shares of The Gap, Inc. (NYSE:GPS) gapped down prior to trading on Thursday . The stock had previously closed at $24.45, but opened at $23.78. GAP shares last traded at $24.11, with a volume of 396,364 shares changing hands.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on GPS shares. Telsey Advisory Group increased their price objective on shares of GAP from $22.00 to $29.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, May 31st. StockNews.com cut shares of GAP from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 4th. Robert W. Baird increased their target price on shares of GAP from $23.00 to $28.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, May 31st. Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on shares of GAP from $17.00 to $28.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, May 31st. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group increased 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. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $25.98.

GAP Stock Down 0.7 %

The firm’s 50 day moving average is $23.23 and its two-hundred day moving average is $22.11. The firm has a market cap of $8.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.09 and a beta of 2.35. The company has a current ratio of 1.50, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55.

GAP (NYSE:GPS) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, May 30th. The apparel retailer reported $0.41 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.14 by $0.27. The firm had revenue of $3.39 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.29 billion. GAP had a net margin of 4.52% and a return on equity of 27.57%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 3.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.01 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that The Gap, Inc. will post 1.74 EPS for the current fiscal year.

GAP Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 31st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, July 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.15 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, July 10th. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.51%. GAP’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 33.33%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other GAP news, CFO Katrina O’connell sold 20,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $29.01, for a total transaction of $580,200.00. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 30.81% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of GAP

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Plato Investment Management Ltd raised its holdings in shares of GAP by 37.2% in the first quarter. Plato Investment Management Ltd now owns 1,965 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $54,000 after purchasing an additional 533 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC acquired a new stake in shares of GAP in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $42,000. New York State Teachers Retirement System raised its holdings in shares of GAP by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System now owns 263,675 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $5,513,000 after purchasing an additional 3,109 shares during the last quarter. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S acquired a new stake in shares of GAP in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $73,000. Finally, Nisa Investment Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of GAP by 11.3% in the fourth quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 41,265 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $863,000 after purchasing an additional 4,200 shares during the last quarter. 58.81% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.