GAP (NYSE:GAP) Reaches New 12-Month Low - Here's Why

Shares of The Gap, Inc. (NYSE:GAP - Get Free Report) hit a new 52-week low during mid-day trading on Friday . The stock traded as low as $17.01 and last traded at $17.32, with a volume of 2716006 shares. The stock had previously closed at $17.84.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently commented on GAP. Barclays increased their price objective on GAP from $32.00 to $33.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Robert W. Baird reduced their price target on shares of GAP from $31.00 to $29.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Telsey Advisory Group restated a "market perform" rating and issued a $26.00 price objective on shares of GAP in a report on Friday, March 7th. UBS Group reduced their target price on shares of GAP from $26.00 to $25.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, March 10th. Finally, Citigroup decreased their target price on shares of GAP from $32.00 to $22.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $28.69.

GAP Trading Up 15.8 %

The company has a quick ratio of 0.84, a current ratio of 1.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47. The company has a market capitalization of $7.59 billion, a PE ratio of 9.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.94 and a beta of 2.15. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $21.51 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $22.45.

GAP (NYSE:GAP - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 6th. The company reported $0.54 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.36 by $0.18. The business had revenue of $4.15 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.07 billion. GAP had a return on equity of 29.03% and a net margin of 5.40%. Sell-side analysts anticipate that The Gap, Inc. will post 2.02 earnings per share for the current year.

GAP Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 30th. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 9th will be issued a $0.165 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 9th. This represents a $0.66 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.26%. This is a boost from GAP's previous quarterly dividend of $0.15. GAP's payout ratio is 29.86%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other GAP news, CFO Katrina O'connell sold 2,365 shares of GAP stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $19.59, for a total transaction of $46,330.35. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 8,503 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $166,573.77. The trade was a 21.76 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Mark Breitbard sold 16,055 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $20.43, for a total value of $328,003.65. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 123,985 shares in the company, valued at $2,533,013.55. This trade represents a 11.46 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 177,495 shares of company stock worth $3,598,459. 31.00% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On GAP

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Rhumbline Advisers purchased a new position in GAP during the first quarter valued at $12,210,000. California State Teachers Retirement System bought a new position in shares of GAP in the 4th quarter worth about $4,953,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC purchased a new position in GAP during the 1st quarter valued at about $1,971,000. 58.81% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.