GAP (NYSE:GAP) Trading Up 4.9% – Here’s What Happened

The Gap, Inc. (NYSE:GAP)’s share price shot up 4.9% during trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $22.14 and last traded at $22.26. 1,249,959 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 81% from the average session volume of 6,444,934 shares. The stock had previously closed at $21.22.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

GAP has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of GAP from $29.00 to $30.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, March 7th. Robert W. Baird decreased their target price on shares of GAP from $31.00 to $29.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, March 7th. UBS Group cut their price target on GAP from $26.00 to $25.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, March 10th. Barclays raised their price objective on GAP from $32.00 to $33.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, March 7th. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed a “market perform” rating and issued a $26.00 price objective on shares of GAP in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $29.25.

GAP Trading Up 5.3 %

The company has a market capitalization of $8.38 billion, a PE ratio of 10.34, a P/E/G ratio of 0.94 and a beta of 2.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a current ratio of 1.54. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $22.20 and a 200 day moving average price of $22.53.

GAP (NYSE:GAP) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 6th. The company reported $0.54 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.36 by $0.18. GAP had a net margin of 5.40% and a return on equity of 29.03%. The firm had revenue of $4.15 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.07 billion. Analysts expect that The Gap, Inc. 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. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 9th will be issued a $0.165 dividend. This is an increase from GAP’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.15. This represents a $0.66 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.95%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 9th. GAP’s dividend payout ratio is currently 29.86%.

Insider Buying and Selling at GAP

In other GAP news, CEO Mark Breitbard sold 3,393 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $19.58, for a total value of $66,434.94. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 133,341 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,610,816.78. This trade represents a 2.48 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Sarah Gilligan sold 29,813 shares of GAP stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $20.34, for a total transaction of $606,396.42. Following the sale, the insider now owns 2,634 shares in the company, valued at $53,575.56. This represents a 91.88 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 177,495 shares of company stock valued at $3,598,459 over the last three months. 31.00% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On GAP

An institutional investor recently bought a new position in GAP stock. California State Teachers Retirement System acquired a new stake in The Gap, Inc. (NYSE:GAP) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 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 at the end of the most recent reporting period. 58.81% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About GAP

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.