The Gap, Inc. (NYSE:GAP) Given Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Shares of The Gap, Inc. (NYSE:GAP) have been assigned a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the twelve analysts that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and seven have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 12 month price objective among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $29.25.

GAP has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. UBS Group cut their price objective on shares of GAP from $26.00 to $25.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 10th. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed a “market perform” rating and issued a $26.00 price target on shares of GAP in a report on Friday, March 7th. Barclays upped their price target on GAP from $32.00 to $33.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, March 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on GAP from $29.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Finally, Robert W. Baird reduced their target price on GAP from $31.00 to $29.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, March 7th.

GAP Stock Down 0.8 %

Shares of NYSE GAP opened at $21.40 on Thursday. GAP has a 12-month low of $18.54 and a 12-month high of $26.41. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $22.42 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $22.49. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.02 billion, a PE ratio of 9.91, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.94 and a beta of 2.38. The company has a current ratio of 1.54, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47.

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

GAP Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 30th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 9th will be issued a $0.165 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 9th. This is a positive change from GAP’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.15. This represents a $0.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.08%. GAP’s dividend payout ratio is currently 29.86%.

Insider Transactions at GAP

In other GAP news, CEO Mark Breitbard sold 16,055 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $20.43, for a total transaction of $328,003.65. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 123,985 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,533,013.55. This trade represents a 11.46 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Elisabeth B. Donohue sold 3,539 shares of GAP stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $21.04, for a total transaction of $74,460.56. Following the sale, the director now owns 4,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $84,160. The trade was a 46.94 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 177,495 shares of company stock worth $3,598,459 over the last three months. 31.00% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On GAP

A hedge fund recently bought a new stake in GAP stock. California State Teachers Retirement System bought a new position in The Gap, Inc. (NYSE:GAP) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 209,599 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,953,000. California State Teachers Retirement System owned about 0.06% of GAP as of its most recent SEC filing. Hedge funds and other 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.