GAP (NYSE:GPS) Price Target Increased to $14.00 by Analysts at Morgan Stanley

GAP (NYSE:GPS) had its target price upped by Morgan Stanley from $13.00 to $14.00 in a report released on Friday morning, Benzinga reports. Morgan Stanley currently has an equal weight rating on the apparel retailer’s stock.

A number of other equities analysts have also commented on the stock. Guggenheim reaffirmed a buy rating and issued a $18.00 price objective on shares of GAP in a research note on Wednesday, September 13th. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of GAP from an equal weight rating to an overweight rating and increased their target price for the stock from $11.00 to $16.00 in a research report on Wednesday, October 25th. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated a market perform rating and issued a $17.00 target price (up previously from $11.00) on shares of GAP in a research report on Monday, November 13th. Citigroup increased their target price on shares of GAP from $9.00 to $11.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a research report on Friday, August 18th. Finally, Barclays upgraded shares of GAP from an equal weight rating to an overweight rating and increased their target price for the stock from $9.00 to $13.00 in a research report on Tuesday, August 1st. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, GAP currently has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $13.13.

GAP Trading Up 30.6 %

GAP stock opened at $17.86 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $11.89 and a 200 day moving average price of $10.27. GAP has a 52 week low of $7.22 and a 52 week high of $18.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a current ratio of 1.41. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 61.57, a P/E/G ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 1.92.

GAP (NYSE:GPS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 16th. The apparel retailer reported $0.59 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.20 by $0.39. GAP had a net margin of 0.71% and a return on equity of 5.06%. The firm had revenue of $3.77 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.61 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.71 EPS. The company’s revenue was down 6.7% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts forecast that GAP will post 0.72 EPS for the current year.

GAP Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 31st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, January 3rd will be issued a dividend of $0.15 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, January 2nd. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.36%. GAP’s dividend payout ratio is currently 206.90%.

Insider Activity

In other GAP news, EVP Sarah Gilligan sold 8,712 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $14.00, for a total value of $121,968.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 11,741 shares in the company, valued at approximately $164,374. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, EVP Sarah Gilligan sold 8,712 shares of GAP stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $14.00, for a total transaction of $121,968.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 11,741 shares in the company, valued at approximately $164,374. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Katrina O’connell sold 24,509 shares of GAP stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $10.36, for a total transaction of $253,913.24. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 33,768 shares of company stock worth $382,237. 30.81% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of GAP

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Ameriprise Financial Inc. lifted its holdings in GAP by 73.4% during the 3rd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 3,572,524 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $37,976,000 after purchasing an additional 1,512,067 shares during the last quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in GAP by 117.8% during the 3rd quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 4,613 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $49,000 after purchasing an additional 2,495 shares during the last quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System lifted its holdings in GAP by 6.5% during the 3rd quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 368,274 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $3,915,000 after purchasing an additional 22,316 shares during the last quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System lifted its holdings in GAP by 8.3% during the 3rd quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System now owns 260,566 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $2,770,000 after purchasing an additional 19,923 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its holdings in GAP by 2.9% during the 3rd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 2,906,701 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $30,898,000 after purchasing an additional 80,792 shares during the last quarter. 61.71% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

GAP Company Profile

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 denim and khakis; eyewear, jewelry, shoes, handbags, and fragrances; and fitness and lifestyle products for use in yoga, training, sports, travel, and everyday activities for women and girls.