UBS Group Issues Pessimistic Forecast for GAP (NYSE:GAP) Stock Price

GAP (NYSE:GAP) had its target price lowered by investment analysts at UBS Group from $29.00 to $27.00 in a report issued on Friday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a “neutral” rating on the stock. UBS Group’s target price indicates a potential upside of 20.43% from the company’s previous close.

GAP has been the topic of several other research reports. Robert W. Baird decreased their price objective on GAP from $31.00 to $29.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, March 7th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their target price on GAP from $34.00 to $25.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on GAP from $30.00 to $27.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “hold” rating and issued a $29.00 target price (up from $26.00) on shares of GAP in a research report on Wednesday, May 21st. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed a “market perform” rating and issued a $26.00 target price on shares of GAP in a research report on Friday. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $28.47.

GAP Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:GAP opened at $22.42 on Friday. GAP has a one year low of $16.99 and a one year high of $29.29. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $22.44 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $22.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a current ratio of 1.54. The stock has a market cap of $8.44 billion, a PE ratio of 10.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.94 and a beta of 2.24.

GAP (NYSE:GAP) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 29th. The company reported $0.51 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.44 by $0.07. GAP had a return on equity of 29.03% and a net margin of 5.40%. The business had revenue of $3.46 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.41 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.41 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 2.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts forecast that GAP will post 2.02 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other GAP news, Director Elisabeth B. Donohue sold 3,539 shares of GAP stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $21.04, for a total value of $74,460.56. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 4,000 shares in the company, valued at $84,160. The trade was a 46.94% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CFO Katrina O’connell sold 80,029 shares of GAP stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $20.35, for a total value of $1,628,590.15. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 8,290 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $168,701.50. The trade was a 90.61% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 228,880 shares of company stock worth $4,985,854 in the last three months. 31.00% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On GAP

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC acquired a new position in GAP in the first quarter valued at approximately $30,000. New York State Teachers Retirement System acquired a new position in GAP in the first quarter valued at approximately $5,065,000. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund acquired a new position in GAP in the first quarter valued at approximately $932,000. GAMMA Investing LLC acquired a new position in shares of GAP during the first quarter worth approximately $96,000. Finally, Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators acquired a new position in shares of GAP during the first quarter worth approximately $81,000. 58.81% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About GAP

Gap, Inc operates as a global apparel retail company, which offers clothing, apparel, accessories, and personal care products for men, women, and children. The firm operates through the following segments: Gap Global, Old Navy Global, Banana Republic Global, Athleta, and Other. The Gap Global segment includes apparel and accessories for men and women under the Gap brand, along with the GapKids, BabyGap, GapMaternity, GapBody, and GapFit collections.