Morgan Stanley Boosts GAP (NYSE:GPS) Price Target to $20.00

GAP (NYSE:GPS) had its price target hoisted by Morgan Stanley from $19.00 to $20.00 in a research note issued to investors on Monday, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an equal weight rating on the apparel retailer’s stock.

Several other analysts also recently commented on GPS. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of GAP from an underweight rating to a neutral rating and increased their target price for the company from $16.00 to $20.00 in a report on Monday, February 26th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of GAP from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research note on Thursday, February 15th. Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on GAP to $23.00 and gave the stock a hold rating in a research note on Friday, March 22nd. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on GAP from $24.00 to $25.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a report on Thursday, April 25th. Finally, TheStreet upgraded GAP from a c rating to a b- rating in a report on Thursday, March 7th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $20.39.

GAP Stock Performance

Shares of GPS opened at $22.41 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.72, a P/E/G ratio of 1.33 and a beta of 2.34. GAP has a 52 week low of $7.22 and a 52 week high of $28.59. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $22.92 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $20.19. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a current ratio of 1.42.

GAP (NYSE:GPS) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, March 7th. The apparel retailer reported $0.49 earnings per share (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 analysts’ expectations of $4.22 billion. GAP had a return on equity of 22.56% and a net margin of 3.37%. GAP’s quarterly revenue was up 1.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned ($0.75) earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast 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, July 31st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, July 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.15 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, July 10th. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.68%. GAP’s payout ratio is 44.78%.

Insider Transactions at GAP

In related news, CFO Katrina O’connell sold 9,818 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $27.94, for a total transaction of $274,314.92. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other news, insider Julie Gruber sold 9,414 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 1,384 shares in the company, valued at approximately $38,668.96. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Katrina O’connell sold 9,818 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $27.94, for a total value of $274,314.92. 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 three months. Company insiders own 31.00% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On GAP

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its position in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 80,792 shares during the last quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC lifted its position in GAP by 11.3% during the fourth quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 41,265 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $863,000 after purchasing an additional 4,200 shares during the last quarter. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky grew its stake in GAP by 90.6% in the 3rd quarter. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky now owns 74,080 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $787,000 after buying an additional 35,223 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC bought a new position in shares of GAP in the 4th quarter worth $42,000. Finally, New York State Teachers Retirement System raised its position in shares of GAP by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System now owns 263,675 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $5,513,000 after buying an additional 3,109 shares in the last quarter. 58.81% 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 adult apparel and accessories; and fitness and lifestyle products for use in yoga, training, sports, travel, and everyday activities for women and girls.