Traders Purchase Large Volume of GAP Call Options (NYSE:GAP)

The Gap, Inc. (NYSE:GAP) saw some unusual options trading on Monday. Traders purchased 21,345 call options on the stock. This is an increase of approximately 32% compared to the average volume of 16,115 call options.

GAP Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:GAP opened at $21.60 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.94 and a beta of 2.38. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $22.46 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $22.50. GAP has a fifty-two week low of $18.54 and a fifty-two week high of $26.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a current ratio of 1.54 and a quick ratio of 0.84.

GAP (NYSE:GAP) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, March 6th. The company reported $0.54 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.36 by $0.18. The business had revenue of $4.15 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.07 billion. GAP had a net margin of 5.40% and a return on equity of 29.03%. As a group, analysts predict that GAP will post 2.02 EPS for the current fiscal year.

GAP Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 30th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 9th will be paid a dividend of $0.165 per share. This is a boost from GAP’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.15. This represents a $0.66 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.06%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 9th. GAP’s dividend payout ratio is 29.86%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have weighed in on GAP. Argus raised GAP from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $27.00 price target for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Robert W. Baird cut their price objective on GAP from $31.00 to $29.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, March 7th. UBS Group decreased their target price on GAP from $26.00 to $25.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, March 10th. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of GAP from $32.00 to $33.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of GAP from $29.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, March 7th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $29.25.

Insider Buying and Selling at GAP

In related news, CEO Horacio Barbeito sold 40,764 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $20.07, for a total value of $818,133.48. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 308 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,181.56. This represents a 99.25 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Elisabeth B. Donohue sold 3,539 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $21.04, for a total value of $74,460.56. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 4,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $84,160. This represents a 46.94 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 177,495 shares of company stock valued at $3,598,459. Corporate insiders own 31.00% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On GAP

An institutional investor recently bought a new position in GAP stock. California State Teachers Retirement System bought a new stake in The Gap, Inc. (NYSE:GAP) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 209,599 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,953,000. California State Teachers Retirement System owned 0.06% of GAP at the end of the most recent quarter. Institutional investors own 58.81% of the company’s stock.

GAP Company Profile

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.