The Gap, Inc. (NYSE:GPS) Short Interest Up 7.8% in April

The Gap, Inc. (NYSE:GPS - Get Free Report) saw a significant growth in short interest in April. As of April 30th, there was short interest totalling 34,410,000 shares, a growth of 7.8% from the April 15th total of 31,910,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 8,110,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 4.2 days. Currently, 15.6% of the company's stock are sold short.

GAP Price Performance

GPS stock traded down $0.18 during trading on Thursday, hitting $21.76. 4,734,690 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 7,398,268. GAP has a 52 week low of $7.22 and a 52 week high of $28.59. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.37, a P/E/G ratio of 1.36 and a beta of 2.34. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $23.23 and a 200 day simple moving average of $20.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a current ratio of 1.42.

GAP (NYSE:GPS - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 7th. The apparel retailer reported $0.49 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.20 by $0.29. GAP had a net margin of 3.37% and a return on equity of 22.56%. The firm had revenue of $4.30 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.22 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned ($0.75) EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 1.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts expect that GAP will post 1.36 EPS for the current fiscal year.

GAP Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 31st. Investors of record on Wednesday, July 10th will be given a $0.15 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, July 10th. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.76%. GAP's dividend payout ratio is presently 44.78%.

Insider Activity at GAP

In other news, insider Julie Gruber sold 24,180 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $23.00, for a total value of $556,140.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 1,384 shares in the company, valued at $31,832. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other GAP news, insider Julie Gruber sold 24,180 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $23.00, for a total transaction of $556,140.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 1,384 shares in the company, valued at approximately $31,832. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CFO Katrina O'connell sold 2,724 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, March 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $23.70, for a total value of $64,558.80. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 266,723 shares of company stock valued at $6,886,765 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 31.00% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. GAMMA Investing LLC bought a new position in GAP in the 4th quarter valued at $42,000. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S bought a new position in shares of GAP in the fourth quarter worth about $73,000. SVB Wealth LLC purchased a new position in GAP in the 1st quarter worth about $207,000. VitalStone Financial LLC bought a new stake in GAP during the 4th quarter valued at about $197,000. Finally, Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board purchased a new stake in GAP in the 4th quarter valued at about $220,000. Institutional investors own 58.81% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on GPS. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on shares of GAP from $14.00 to $18.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research report on Friday, March 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of GAP from an "underweight" rating to a "neutral" rating and increased their target price for the stock from $16.00 to $20.00 in a report on Monday, February 26th. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on shares of GAP from $22.00 to $24.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, March 22nd. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on shares of GAP from $24.00 to $25.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 25th. Finally, Citigroup upgraded GAP from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and increased their price target for the stock from $21.00 to $28.00 in a research note on Tuesday, May 7th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, GAP presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $21.15.

About GAP

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.