The Gap, Inc. (NYSE:GAP) Receives $28.31 Consensus Price Target from Analysts

Shares of The Gap, Inc. (NYSE:GAP - Get Free Report) have been given a consensus recommendation of "Moderate Buy" by the fourteen research firms that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. The average 12 month price objective among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $28.07.

GAP has been the topic of several analyst reports. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated a "market perform" rating and issued a $26.00 price objective on shares of GAP in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Citigroup reduced their price target on GAP from $32.00 to $22.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Barclays boosted their price objective on GAP from $32.00 to $33.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, March 7th. UBS Group reduced their target price on shares of GAP from $26.00 to $25.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, March 10th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price target on shares of GAP from $34.00 to $25.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday.

GAP Trading Up 1.2 %

GAP stock traded up $0.26 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $21.00. 1,256,960 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 6,944,515. The company has a current ratio of 1.54, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47. The firm has a market cap of $7.91 billion, a PE ratio of 9.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.94 and a beta of 2.15. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $20.57 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $22.29. GAP has a 12-month low of $16.99 and a 12-month high of $26.41.

GAP (NYSE:GAP - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 6th. The company reported $0.54 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.36 by $0.18. The firm had revenue of $4.15 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.07 billion. GAP had a net margin of 5.40% and a return on equity of 29.03%. Research analysts expect that GAP will post 2.02 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

GAP Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 30th. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 9th will be paid a dividend of $0.165 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 9th. This represents a $0.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.14%. This is a boost from GAP's previous quarterly dividend of $0.15. GAP's dividend payout ratio is currently 29.86%.

Insider Activity

In other GAP news, Director Elisabeth B. Donohue sold 3,539 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $21.04, for a total transaction of $74,460.56. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 4,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $84,160. This trade represents a 46.94 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Horacio Barbeito sold 40,764 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $20.07, for a total value of $818,133.48. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 308 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,181.56. The trade was a 99.25 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 177,495 shares of company stock valued at $3,598,459. Insiders own 31.00% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of GAP

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in GAP. Rhumbline Advisers purchased a new stake in GAP in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $12,210,000. Hennessy Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of GAP in the first quarter valued at approximately $7,422,000. New York State Teachers Retirement System acquired a new position in GAP during the first quarter worth $5,065,000. California State Teachers Retirement System purchased a new position in GAP in the fourth quarter worth $4,953,000. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC acquired a new stake in GAP in the first quarter valued at $3,519,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 58.81% of the company's stock.

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.