GAP (NYSE:GAP) Stock Price Down 5% - Here's What Happened

Key Points

• GAP's stock price decreased by 5% during trading, reaching a low of $23.00, with 4.4 million shares traded, significantly lower than its average volume of 9.2 million shares.
• Analysts have lowered their price targets for GAP, with Citigroup and Jefferies both setting a target of $22.00, and Zacks Research downgraded the stock to a "strong sell".
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.165 per share, with a yield of 2.9%, payable on October 29th to investors of record on October 8th.

The Gap, Inc. (NYSE:GAP - Get Free Report)'s share price fell 5% during trading on Friday . The stock traded as low as $23.00 and last traded at $23.03. 4,411,169 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 52% from the average session volume of 9,221,270 shares. The stock had previously closed at $24.23.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently commented on GAP. Citigroup restated a "neutral" rating and set a $22.00 price target (down previously from $30.00) on shares of GAP in a research note on Wednesday, August 20th. Jefferies Financial Group set a $22.00 price objective on GAP in a research report on Thursday, September 4th. Wall Street Zen cut GAP from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Sunday, August 3rd. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price objective on GAP from $28.00 to $26.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Finally, Zacks Research cut GAP from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 27th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $25.40.

GAP Trading Down 5.5%

The firm has a market cap of $8.50 billion, a PE ratio of 9.78, a PEG ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 2.09. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $21.36 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $21.76. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 1.68 and a quick ratio of 0.96.

GAP (NYSE:GAP - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 28th. The company reported $0.57 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.55 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $3.73 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.73 billion. GAP had a return on equity of 27.04% and a net margin of 5.86%.The business's revenue for the quarter was up .1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.54 earnings per share. GAP has set its Q3 2025 guidance at EPS. FY 2025 guidance at EPS. Analysts forecast that The Gap, Inc. will post 2.02 EPS for the current year.

GAP Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 29th. Investors of record on Wednesday, October 8th will be paid a dividend of $0.165 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, October 8th. This represents a $0.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.9%. GAP's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 28.21%.

Insider Activity at GAP

In related news, Director William Sydney Fisher sold 243,064 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $23.82, for a total transaction of $5,789,784.48. Following the sale, the director owned 3,453,453 shares of the company's stock, valued at $82,261,250.46. This trade represents a 6.58% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 30.56% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On GAP

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Dodge & Cox purchased a new position in shares of GAP in the 1st quarter worth about $592,222,000. Ameriprise Financial Inc. raised its holdings in shares of GAP by 42.7% in the 2nd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 4,407,809 shares of the company's stock worth $96,134,000 after purchasing an additional 1,318,322 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of GAP by 3.8% in the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,166,545 shares of the company's stock worth $91,399,000 after purchasing an additional 151,297 shares during the period. LSV Asset Management raised its holdings in shares of GAP by 101.0% in the 2nd quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 3,184,477 shares of the company's stock worth $69,453,000 after purchasing an additional 1,600,041 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its holdings in shares of GAP by 5.3% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 2,899,563 shares of the company's stock worth $63,239,000 after purchasing an additional 145,427 shares during the period. 58.81% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About GAP

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.

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