The Gap, Inc. (NYSE:GPS) Announces $0.15 Quarterly Dividend

The Gap, Inc. (NYSE:GPS - Get Free Report) declared a quarterly dividend on Tuesday, May 7th, RTT News reports. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, July 10th will be given a dividend of 0.15 per share by the apparel retailer on Wednesday, July 31st. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.71%.

GAP has raised its dividend by an average of 35.3% per year over the last three years. GAP has a payout ratio of 38.2% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Analysts expect GAP to earn $1.50 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $0.60 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 40.0%.

GAP Stock Down 0.4 %

Shares of GPS stock traded down $0.10 on Tuesday, hitting $22.12. 7,445,948 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 7,531,471. The company has a current ratio of 1.42, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.33 and a beta of 2.34. GAP has a fifty-two week low of $7.22 and a fifty-two week high of $28.59. The business has a 50-day moving average of $22.86 and a 200 day moving average of $20.17.

GAP (NYSE:GPS - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 7th. The apparel retailer reported $0.49 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.20 by $0.29. The firm had revenue of $4.30 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.22 billion. GAP had a return on equity of 22.56% and a net margin of 3.37%. The business's revenue was up 1.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted ($0.75) EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that GAP will post 1.36 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently issued reports on GPS. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised GAP from an "underweight" rating to a "neutral" rating and lifted their target price for the company from $16.00 to $20.00 in a research report on Monday, February 26th. TheStreet raised GAP from a "c" rating to a "b-" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 7th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on GAP from $19.00 to $20.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday. Telsey Advisory Group boosted their target price on shares of GAP from $17.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a report on Friday, March 8th. Finally, Cowen increased their price target on shares of GAP from $19.00 to $21.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research note on Friday, March 22nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $20.39.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other GAP news, insider Sarah Gilligan sold 29,425 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $22.58, for a total value of $664,416.50. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 1,697 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $38,318.26. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other news, CEO Mark Breitbard sold 27,222 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $28.18, for a total transaction of $767,115.96. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 123,985 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,493,897.30. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Sarah Gilligan sold 29,425 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $22.58, for a total value of $664,416.50. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 1,697 shares of the company's stock, valued at $38,318.26. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 266,723 shares of company stock valued at $6,886,765. Insiders own 31.00% of the company's stock.

GAP Company Profile

The Gap, Inc operates as an apparel retail company. The company offers apparel, accessories, and personal care products for men, women, and children under the Old Navy, Gap, Banana Republic, and Athleta brands. Its products include adult apparel and accessories; and fitness and lifestyle products for use in yoga, training, sports, travel, and everyday activities for women and girls.