GAP (NYSE:GPS) Stock Price Down 5.1%

The Gap, Inc. (NYSE:GPS)’s share price traded down 5.1% on Tuesday . The company traded as low as $20.71 and last traded at $20.76. 1,066,441 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 86% from the average session volume of 7,510,033 shares. The stock had previously closed at $21.88.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

GPS has been the subject of several research reports. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on shares of GAP from $22.00 to $24.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, March 22nd. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on shares of GAP from $14.00 to $18.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, March 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of GAP from an “underweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and raised their price target for the company from $16.00 to $20.00 in a research report on Monday, February 26th. Telsey Advisory Group raised their price target on shares of GAP from $17.00 to $22.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, March 8th. Finally, Cowen lifted their price objective on shares of GAP from $19.00 to $21.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, March 22nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, GAP presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $18.89.

GAP Stock Performance

The company has a current ratio of 1.42, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57. The company’s fifty day moving average is $22.51 and its 200 day moving average is $19.15. The company has a market cap of $7.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.82, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 2.28.

GAP (NYSE:GPS) last released its earnings results on Thursday, March 7th. The apparel retailer reported $0.49 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.20 by $0.29. The company had revenue of $4.30 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.22 billion. GAP had a net margin of 3.37% and a return on equity of 22.56%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 1.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned ($0.75) EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that The Gap, Inc. will post 1.36 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

GAP Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 1st. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 10th will be paid a $0.15 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 9th. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.83%. GAP’s payout ratio is 44.78%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Julie Gruber sold 24,180 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $23.00, for a total value of $556,140.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 1,384 shares in the company, valued at approximately $31,832. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other GAP news, insider Julie Gruber sold 24,180 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $23.00, for a total transaction of $556,140.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 1,384 shares in the company, valued at approximately $31,832. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Katrina O’connell sold 45,266 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $22.58, for a total transaction of $1,022,106.28. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 5,937 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $134,057.46. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 266,723 shares of company stock worth $6,886,765 in the last three months. 30.81% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On GAP

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Ameriprise Financial Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of GAP by 73.4% in the third quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 3,572,524 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $37,976,000 after buying an additional 1,512,067 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its holdings in shares of GAP by 1.3% in the third quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 3,122,321 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $25,633,000 after buying an additional 40,348 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of GAP by 5.0% in the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,036,564 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $27,117,000 after buying an additional 145,468 shares in the last quarter. Hennessy Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of GAP by 14.1% in the first quarter. Hennessy Advisors Inc. now owns 2,305,600 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $63,519,000 after buying an additional 285,000 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP purchased a new position in shares of GAP in the fourth quarter worth $20,617,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 58.81% of the company’s stock.

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 adult apparel and accessories; and fitness and lifestyle products for use in yoga, training, sports, travel, and everyday activities for women and girls.