The Gap, Inc. $GAP Stock: Vest Financial LLC Grows Stake

Key Points

• Vest Financial increased its Gap stake by 43.5% in the third quarter, bringing its holdings to 317,626 shares worth approximately $7.3 million. Institutional investors and hedge funds collectively own 58.81% of the company.
• Analyst sentiment remains mixed, with a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $27.07. Several firms raised their targets to between $23 and $27.
• Gap exceeded quarterly EPS expectations, reporting $0.52 versus the $0.48 estimate, 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 3.1% annualized yield.

Vest Financial LLC grew its stake in shares of The Gap, Inc. (NYSE:GAP - Free Report) by 43.5% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 317,626 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 96,271 shares during the period. Vest Financial LLC owned approximately 0.09% of GAP worth $7,255,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of GAP. Global Retirement Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of GAP in the 2nd quarter valued at about $29,000. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of GAP in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $50,000. Quantbot Technologies LP bought a new position in GAP during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $73,000. Westpac Banking Corp bought a new position in GAP during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $103,000. Finally, Nykredit A S bought a new position in GAP during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $129,000. 58.81% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on GAP shares. TD Cowen boosted their price objective on shares of GAP from $23.00 to $27.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, August 28th. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of GAP from $21.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, August 28th. Wolfe Research began coverage on shares of GAP in a research report on Wednesday. They set a "peer perform" rating on the stock. Bank of America boosted their price target on shares of GAP from $26.00 to $27.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, August 28th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of GAP from $22.00 to $23.00 and gave the company a "cautious" rating in a report on Friday, August 28th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, GAP presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $27.07.

GAP Trading Up 1.1%

NYSE:GAP opened at $22.93 on Friday. The Gap, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $18.11 and a fifty-two week high of $29.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38, a current ratio of 1.82 and a quick ratio of 1.11. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.05 billion, a PE ratio of 6.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.95 and a beta of 2.05. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $21.92 and its 200-day simple moving average is $21.90.

GAP (NYSE:GAP - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 27th. The company reported $0.52 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.48 by $0.04. GAP had a return on equity of 19.72% and a net margin of 8.14%. The business had revenue of $3.65 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.69 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.57 EPS. GAP's quarterly revenue was down 2.0% compared to the same quarter last year. GAP has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.350-2.450 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that The Gap, Inc. will post 2.41 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, October 28th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, October 7th will be paid a $0.1750 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, October 7th. This represents a $0.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.1%. GAP's payout ratio is presently 20.90%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Julie Gruber sold 27,538 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $23.56, for a total value of $648,795.28. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 30,876 shares in the company, valued at $727,438.56. This represents a 47.14% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director William Fisher sold 500,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $23.89, for a total transaction of $11,945,000.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 15,903,198 shares of the company's stock, valued at $379,927,400.22. This represents a 3.05% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 1,027,538 shares of company stock worth $24,249,556. Insiders own 31.00% of the company's stock.

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. The Old Navy Global segment offers clothing and accessories for adults and children.

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