Brokerages Set The Gap, Inc. (NYSE:GPS) PT at $18.95

Shares of The Gap, Inc. (NYSE:GPS) have received a consensus recommendation of “Hold” from the fourteen brokerages that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. The average 1-year price target among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $18.95.

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on GPS shares. Telsey Advisory Group upped their target price on GAP from $17.00 to $22.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, March 8th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of GAP from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 15th. Evercore ISI upped their price objective on shares of GAP from $22.00 to $24.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, March 22nd. Barclays raised their target price on GAP from $26.00 to $28.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, March 22nd. Finally, KGI Securities upped their price target on GAP from $9.10 to $25.20 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, March 22nd.

Insider Transactions at GAP

In other GAP news, insider Julie Gruber sold 9,414 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $27.94, for a total value of $263,027.16. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 1,384 shares in the company, valued at approximately $38,668.96. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other news, insider Sarah Gilligan sold 29,425 shares of the business’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 $664,416.50. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 1,697 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $38,318.26. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Julie Gruber sold 9,414 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $27.94, for a total transaction of $263,027.16. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 1,384 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $38,668.96. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 266,723 shares of company stock valued at $6,886,765 over the last 90 days. 31.00% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. New York State Teachers Retirement System raised its position in GAP by 2.7% in the first quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System now owns 270,730 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $7,459,000 after purchasing an additional 7,055 shares during the period. Hennessy Advisors Inc. increased its position in shares of GAP by 14.1% during the 1st quarter. Hennessy Advisors Inc. now owns 2,305,600 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $63,519,000 after purchasing an additional 285,000 shares during the last quarter. VitalStone Financial LLC acquired a new stake in shares of GAP during the 4th quarter worth about $197,000. United Services Automobile Association purchased a new stake in GAP in the 4th quarter valued at about $349,000. Finally, Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board acquired a new position in GAP in the fourth quarter valued at about $220,000. 58.81% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

GAP Stock Down 0.4 %

Shares of GPS stock opened at $21.26 on Friday. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $22.61 and its 200 day moving average price is $19.71. GAP has a 1-year low of $7.22 and a 1-year high of $28.59. The company has a market cap of $7.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.31 and a beta of 2.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57, a current ratio of 1.42 and a quick ratio of 0.78.

GAP (NYSE:GPS) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, March 7th. The apparel retailer reported $0.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.20 by $0.29. The company had revenue of $4.30 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.22 billion. GAP had a return on equity of 22.56% and a net margin of 3.37%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 1.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted ($0.75) EPS. On average, research analysts expect that GAP will post 1.36 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, May 1st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 10th will be paid a dividend of $0.15 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 9th. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.82%. GAP’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 44.78%.

About GAP

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.