GAP (NYSE:GPS) Upgraded to Buy by StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of GAP (NYSE:GPS) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research report released on Friday.

GPS has been the topic of several other research reports. Bank of America increased their target price on shares of GAP from $8.50 to $9.00 and gave the company an underperform rating in a research note on Friday, August 25th. TheStreet raised shares of GAP from a d+ rating to a c- rating in a research note on Thursday, July 27th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on shares of GAP from $13.00 to $18.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research note on Friday. Guggenheim reissued a buy rating and issued a $18.00 target price on shares of GAP in a research note on Wednesday, September 13th. Finally, Barclays raised shares of GAP from an equal weight rating to an overweight rating and increased their target price for the company from $9.00 to $13.00 in a research note on Tuesday, August 1st. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $13.13.

GAP Price Performance

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

GAP (NYSE:GPS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 16th. The apparel retailer reported $0.59 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.20 by $0.39. GAP had a net margin of 0.71% and a return on equity of 5.06%. The business 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 earned $0.71 earnings per share. GAP’s quarterly revenue was down 6.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate that GAP will post 0.72 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

GAP Announces Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling at GAP

In other GAP news, EVP Sarah Gilligan sold 8,712 shares of the firm’s 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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 11,741 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $164,374. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other GAP news, EVP Sarah Gilligan sold 8,712 shares of the firm’s 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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 11,741 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $164,374. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO Katrina O’connell sold 24,509 shares of the firm’s 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 quarter, insiders have sold 33,768 shares of company stock valued at $382,237. Company insiders own 30.81% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of GAP

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Captrust Financial Advisors boosted its holdings in shares of GAP by 12.2% in the 2nd quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 8,561 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $71,000 after buying an additional 930 shares in the last quarter. Arizona State Retirement System boosted its holdings in shares of GAP by 3.1% in the 1st quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 58,176 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $584,000 after buying an additional 1,732 shares in the last quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio boosted its holdings in shares of GAP by 1.8% in the 3rd quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 114,213 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $938,000 after buying an additional 2,005 shares in the last quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of GAP by 317.5% in the 3rd quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 2,793 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 2,124 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Lazard Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in GAP by 117.8% in the 3rd quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 4,613 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $49,000 after purchasing an additional 2,495 shares in the last quarter. 61.71% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.