GAP (NYSE:GPS) Price Target Raised to $25.00

GAP (NYSE:GPS) had its target price raised by The Goldman Sachs Group from $24.00 to $25.00 in a report released on Thursday morning, Benzinga reports. They currently have a buy rating on the apparel retailer’s stock.

A number of other analysts have also recently weighed in on GPS. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on GAP from $24.00 to $25.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a research note on Friday, March 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised GAP from an underweight rating to a neutral rating and upped their price target 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 upped their target price on shares of GAP to $23.00 and gave the company a hold rating in a report on Friday, March 22nd. Finally, Barclays upped their price objective on shares of GAP from $26.00 to $28.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a research note 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 issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, GAP currently has an average rating of Hold and an average target price of $18.95.

GAP Stock Up 5.6 %

GAP stock opened at $21.35 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.93, a P/E/G ratio of 1.31 and a beta of 2.28. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $22.61 and its 200-day simple moving average is $19.66. GAP has a twelve month low of $7.22 and a twelve month high of $28.59. The company has a current ratio of 1.42, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57.

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

GAP Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 1st. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.15 per share. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.81%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 9th. GAP’s dividend payout ratio is presently 44.78%.

Insider Activity at GAP

In other news, insider Julie Gruber sold 24,180 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the insider now owns 1,384 shares in the company, valued at approximately $31,832. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other news, insider Julie Gruber sold 24,180 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $23.00, for a total transaction of $556,140.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 1,384 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $31,832. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Sarah Gilligan sold 29,425 shares of GAP stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $22.58, for a total value of $664,416.50. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 1,697 shares in the company, valued at $38,318.26. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 266,723 shares of company stock worth $6,886,765 in the last three months. Insiders own 30.81% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On GAP

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC grew its position in GAP by 317.5% during the third quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 2,793 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 2,124 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC acquired a new stake in shares of GAP in the 4th quarter worth approximately $42,000. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S purchased a new position in GAP in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $73,000. SG Americas Securities LLC acquired a new position in GAP during the third quarter worth $142,000. Finally, VitalStone Financial LLC purchased a new stake in GAP during the fourth quarter worth $197,000. 58.81% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.