GAP (NYSE:GAP) Stock Price Up 5.3% Following Analyst Upgrade

The Gap, Inc. (NYSE:GAP - Get Free Report)'s share price rose 5.3% on Thursday after Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on the stock from $26.00 to $29.00. Jefferies Financial Group currently has a hold rating on the stock. GAP traded as high as $29.04 and last traded at $28.96. Approximately 1,835,652 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 74% from the average daily volume of 7,007,589 shares. The stock had previously closed at $27.51.

GAP has been the subject of several other reports. Barclays dropped their price target on GAP from $33.00 to $26.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, May 12th. Robert W. Baird dropped their target price on shares of GAP from $31.00 to $29.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, March 7th. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of GAP from $19.00 to $29.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price target on shares of GAP from $34.00 to $25.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. Finally, Argus upgraded GAP from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $27.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $27.60.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Julie Gruber sold 1,537 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $19.59, for a total value of $30,109.83. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 37,395 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $732,568.05. The trade was a 3.95% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Sarah Gilligan sold 29,813 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $20.34, for a total transaction of $606,396.42. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 2,634 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $53,575.56. This trade represents a 91.88% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 228,880 shares of company stock valued at $4,985,854. Corporate insiders own 30.56% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of GAP

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in GAP. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of GAP in the 1st quarter valued at $30,000. First Horizon Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of GAP during the first quarter worth about $75,000. Brooklyn Investment Group acquired a new stake in shares of GAP during the first quarter worth about $80,000. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators purchased a new stake in GAP in the first quarter valued at approximately $81,000. Finally, Covestor Ltd acquired a new position in GAP in the 1st quarter worth approximately $82,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 58.81% of the company's stock.

GAP Trading Up 5.5%

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 company has a market cap of $10.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.41, a P/E/G ratio of 0.94 and a beta of 2.24. The company's fifty day moving average is $21.46 and its two-hundred day moving average is $22.64.

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

GAP Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 30th. Investors of record on Wednesday, July 9th will be issued a $0.165 dividend. This represents a $0.66 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.27%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, July 9th. GAP's payout ratio is 29.86%.

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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