Morgan Stanley Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for GAP (NYSE:GAP) Stock

GAP (NYSE:GAP) had its target price boosted by Morgan Stanley from $29.00 to $30.00 in a research report report published on Friday morning,Benzinga reports. They currently have an overweight rating on the stock.

Other analysts have also issued reports about the stock. Argus raised shares of GAP to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 19th. Bank of America lifted their price target on shares of GAP from $25.00 to $28.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on GAP from $27.00 to $28.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, August 30th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on GAP from $32.00 to $28.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group restated a “market perform” rating and set a $26.00 price target on shares of GAP in a research note on Monday, November 18th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $28.30.

GAP Stock Up 12.8 %

GAP stock opened at $24.87 on Friday. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $21.39. The company has a market capitalization of $9.36 billion, a PE ratio of 11.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.26 and a beta of 2.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a current ratio of 1.49 and a quick ratio of 0.84. GAP has a twelve month low of $18.34 and a twelve month high of $30.75.

GAP (NYSE:GAP) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 29th. The company reported $0.54 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.39 by $0.15. The business had revenue of $3.72 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.61 billion. GAP had a net margin of 5.40% and a return on equity of 30.10%. As a group, equities research analysts expect that GAP will post 1.87 EPS for the current year.

GAP Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 29th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, January 8th will be issued a $0.15 dividend. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.41%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, January 8th. GAP’s dividend payout ratio is currently 27.78%.

Insider Activity

In other GAP news, CEO Horacio Barbeito sold 75,385 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $20.00, for a total value of $1,507,700.00. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Company insiders own 31.00% of the company’s stock.

About GAP

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.