GAP (NYSE:GPS) Sees Large Volume Increase Following Earnings Beat

Shares of The Gap, Inc. (NYSE:GPS – Get Rating) saw an uptick in trading volume on Friday following a stronger than expected earnings report. 7,471,768 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 11% from the previous session’s volume of 8,403,087 shares.The stock last traded at $8.29 and had previously closed at $7.42.

The apparel retailer reported $0.01 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.16) by $0.17. GAP had a negative return on equity of 6.07% and a negative net margin of 1.29%. The firm had revenue of $3.28 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.28 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted ($0.44) EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 5.8% on a year-over-year basis.

GAP Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 26th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, July 5th will be paid a $0.15 dividend. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 7.19%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, July 3rd. GAP’s dividend payout ratio is -109.09%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. StockNews.com assumed coverage on GAP in a report on Thursday, May 18th. They issued a “hold” rating for the company. Telsey Advisory Group restated a “market perform” rating and issued a $15.00 price objective on shares of GAP in a report on Monday, March 6th. Barclays decreased their price objective on GAP from $11.00 to $10.00 in a report on Tuesday, May 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on GAP from $9.00 to $10.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Friday, March 10th. Finally, Citigroup upgraded GAP from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their price objective for the company from $10.00 to $8.00 in a report on Friday, May 19th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, GAP presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $10.97.

Insider Transactions at GAP

In other news, CEO Mark Breitbard sold 7,874 shares of GAP stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $9.66, for a total value of $76,062.84. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 127,442 shares in the company, valued at $1,231,089.72. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders sold a total of 31,209 shares of company stock worth $282,671 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 30.81% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On GAP

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Towle & Co grew its stake in shares of GAP by 9,453.9% during the third quarter. Towle & Co now owns 2,637,840 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $21,657,000 after buying an additional 2,610,230 shares during the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP bought a new stake in shares of GAP during the fourth quarter worth $20,617,000. BNP Paribas Arbitrage SNC grew its stake in shares of GAP by 57.0% during the first quarter. BNP Paribas Arbitrage SNC now owns 1,325,293 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $13,306,000 after buying an additional 481,339 shares during the last quarter. American International Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of GAP by 470.4% during the first quarter. American International Group Inc. now owns 360,438 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $5,075,000 after buying an additional 297,247 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Rhumbline Advisers grew its stake in shares of GAP by 54.9% during the first quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 535,779 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $7,544,000 after buying an additional 189,872 shares during the last quarter. 57.72% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

GAP Trading Up 12.4 %

The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $8.96 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $11.54. The stock has a market cap of $3.05 billion, a P/E ratio of -15.16, a PEG ratio of 1.10 and a beta of 1.91. The company has a quick ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 1.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82.

GAP Company Profile

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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.