Hennessy Advisors Inc. Buys New Shares in The Gap, Inc. (NYSE:GAP)

Hennessy Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in The Gap, Inc. (NYSE:GAP - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 360,100 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $7,422,000. Hennessy Advisors Inc. owned about 0.10% of GAP at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. GAMMA Investing LLC bought a new stake in GAP in the first quarter worth about $96,000. Handelsbanken Fonder AB bought a new stake in GAP in the first quarter worth about $1,107,000. Polianta Ltd bought a new stake in GAP in the first quarter worth about $1,150,000. SG Americas Securities LLC bought a new stake in GAP in the first quarter worth about $3,519,000. Finally, California State Teachers Retirement System bought a new stake in GAP in the fourth quarter worth about $4,953,000. Institutional investors own 58.81% of the company's stock.

GAP Stock Down 3.5%

GAP stock traded down $0.76 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $20.86. 9,993,621 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 7,801,287. The business has a fifty day moving average of $22.79 and a 200 day moving average of $22.86. 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 firm has a market cap of $7.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.66, a PEG ratio of 0.94 and a beta of 2.20. The Gap, Inc. has a 12-month low of $16.99 and a 12-month high of $29.29.

GAP (NYSE:GAP - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 29th. The company reported $0.51 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.44 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $3.46 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.41 billion. GAP had a return on equity of 29.03% and a net margin of 5.40%. GAP's revenue was up 2.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.41 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that The Gap, Inc. will post 2.02 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

GAP Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 30th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, July 9th will be given a dividend of $0.165 per share. This represents a $0.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.16%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, July 9th. GAP's payout ratio is presently 28.57%.

Insider Transactions at GAP

In other news, insider Julie Gruber sold 1,537 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $19.59, for a total transaction of $30,109.83. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 37,395 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $732,568.05. This represents a 3.95% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Mark Breitbard sold 3,393 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $19.58, for a total value of $66,434.94. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 133,341 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,610,816.78. The trade was a 2.48% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 99,444 shares of company stock valued at $2,348,404. Corporate insiders own 30.56% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have issued reports on GAP shares. Wells Fargo & Company downgraded shares of GAP from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and decreased their price objective for the stock from $30.00 to $24.00 in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed a "market perform" rating and set a $26.00 price target on shares of GAP in a research note on Friday, May 30th. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of GAP from $26.00 to $33.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 27th. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a "hold" rating and set a $29.00 price target (up previously from $26.00) on shares of GAP in a research note on Wednesday, May 21st. Finally, Robert W. Baird decreased their price target on shares of GAP from $31.00 to $29.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $28.47.

GAP Company Profile

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.