The Gap, Inc. (NYSE:GAP) Stock Rated "Hold" by Sell-Side Brokerages

Key Points

• Analysts rate Gap stock “Hold” overall: Among 19 covering firms, 11 recommend holding, five recommend buying, two strongly recommend buying, and one recommends selling. The average 12-month price target is $27.07 versus the recent price of $21.83.
• Recent analyst actions were mixed, with TD Cowen, BTIG Research, and UBS raising price targets and maintaining “buy” ratings, while Jefferies downgraded the stock to “hold” and lowered its target to $23.
• Gap reported quarterly EPS of $0.52, beating estimates of $0.48, though revenue fell 2% year over year to $3.65 billion. The company also declared a quarterly dividend of $0.175 per share, representing a 3.2% annualized yield.

Shares of The Gap, Inc. (NYSE:GAP - Get Free Report) have been assigned a consensus recommendation of "Hold" from the nineteen research firms that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. The average 12-month price objective among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $27.07.

Several analysts have commented on GAP shares. TD Cowen increased their target price on GAP from $23.00 to $27.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, August 28th. BTIG Research boosted their price objective on shares of GAP from $26.00 to $27.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, August 28th. UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of GAP from $40.00 to $42.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, August 28th. Jefferies Financial Group downgraded shares of GAP from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and cut their target price for the stock from $29.00 to $23.00 in a research report on Wednesday, August 12th. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their price target on GAP from $21.00 to $23.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, August 28th.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. BlackRock Inc. bought a new stake in shares of GAP in the second quarter worth about $428,824,000. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in GAP by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,291,846 shares of the company's stock worth $110,750,000 after purchasing an additional 14,141 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its stake in GAP by 13.0% during the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 3,195,934 shares of the company's stock valued at $81,816,000 after purchasing an additional 368,191 shares in the last quarter. Miller Howard Investments Inc. NY lifted its holdings in shares of GAP by 112.2% in the 1st quarter. Miller Howard Investments Inc. NY now owns 1,704,021 shares of the company's stock valued at $41,237,000 after acquiring an additional 900,855 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE bought a new stake in shares of GAP in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $30,345,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 58.81% of the company's stock.

GAP Stock Up 0.0%

Shares of GAP stock opened at $21.83 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a current ratio of 1.82. GAP has a 52-week low of $18.11 and a 52-week high of $29.36. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.52, a P/E/G ratio of 0.91 and a beta of 2.08. The company's 50 day moving average price is $20.80 and its 200-day moving average price is $22.03.

GAP (NYSE:GAP - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, August 27th. The company reported $0.52 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.48 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $3.65 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.69 billion. GAP had a net margin of 8.14% and a return on equity of 19.72%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 2.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.57 earnings per share. GAP has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.350-2.450 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that GAP will post 2.41 EPS for the current year.

GAP Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 28th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, October 7th will be issued a dividend of $0.1750 per share. This represents a $0.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, October 7th. GAP's dividend payout ratio is currently 20.90%.

About GAP

Gap Inc is an American specialty apparel retailer founded in 1969 by Donald and Doris Fisher in San Francisco, California. The company operates a portfolio of consumer brands focused on clothing, accessories and personal-care products for women, men and children.

Its principal brands include Old Navy, Gap, Banana Republic and Athleta. Products are sold through company-operated stores, franchise locations and digital channels, with offerings spanning casual apparel, denim, activewear, accessories and lifestyle products.

Gap Inc serves customers in North America and selected international markets through its retail and e-commerce operations.

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