GAP (NYSE:GAP) Shares Break Above 50-Day Moving Average - Here's What Happened

Key Points

• GAP shares broke above their 50-day moving average, reaching $23.03 and last trading near $22.90 on volume of approximately 4.6 million shares.
• Analyst sentiment remains mixed, with a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $27.07; TD Cowen raised its target to $27 and assigned a “Buy” rating.
• The company exceeded quarterly earnings expectations with EPS of $0.52 versus $0.48 expected, while revenue fell 2% year over year. GAP also maintains a quarterly dividend of $0.175, equivalent to a 3.1% annualized yield.

The Gap, Inc. (NYSE:GAP - Get Free Report) shares passed above its fifty day moving average during trading on Thursday. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $22.08 and traded as high as $23.03. GAP shares last traded at $22.8970, with a volume of 4,588,682 shares changing hands.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently commented on GAP shares. Needham & Company LLC assumed coverage on GAP in a report on Friday, October 16th. They set a "hold" rating for the company. TD Cowen raised their price objective on shares of GAP from $23.00 to $27.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, August 28th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of GAP from $22.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock a "cautious" rating in a research report on Friday, August 28th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered shares of GAP from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $29.00 to $23.00 in a research report on Wednesday, August 12th. Finally, Barclays upped their target price on shares of GAP from $20.00 to $23.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday, August 28th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have assigned a Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $27.07.

GAP Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38, a current ratio of 1.82 and a quick ratio of 1.11. The firm has a market cap of $8.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.83, a PEG ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 2.05. The stock's 50 day moving average is $22.08 and its two-hundred day moving average is $23.18.

GAP (NYSE:GAP - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 27th. The company reported $0.52 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.48 by $0.04. GAP had a return on equity of 19.72% and a net margin of 8.14%. The company had revenue of $3.65 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.69 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.57 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was down 2.0% on a year-over-year basis. GAP has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.350-2.450 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that The Gap, Inc. will post 2.40 EPS for the current year.

GAP Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, October 28th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, October 7th were given a $0.1750 dividend. This represents a $0.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.1%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, October 7th. GAP's dividend payout ratio is 20.90%.

Insider Buying and Selling at GAP

In other news, Director William Fisher sold 500,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $23.89, for a total value of $11,945,000.00. Following the sale, the director owned 15,903,198 shares in the company, valued at approximately $379,927,400.22. The trade was a 3.05% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Julie Gruber sold 27,538 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $23.56, for a total transaction of $648,795.28. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 30,876 shares in the company, valued at $727,438.56. This represents a 47.14% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold 1,027,538 shares of company stock valued at $24,249,556 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 31.00% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On GAP

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. BlackRock Inc. bought a new stake in GAP during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $428,824,000. Bank of America Corp DE bought a new position in GAP in the 2nd quarter valued at $30,345,000. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. bought a new position in GAP in the 2nd quarter valued at $12,794,000. Empowered Funds LLC bought a new position in GAP in the 2nd quarter valued at $12,180,000. Finally, Ieq Capital LLC acquired a new position in GAP in the second quarter worth $10,911,000. 58.81% of the stock is owned by 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. The Old Navy Global segment offers clothing and accessories for adults and children.

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