The Gap, Inc. (NYSE:GAP) Receives Consensus Recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from Analysts

Shares of The Gap, Inc. (NYSE:GAP - Get Free Report) have earned a consensus recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from the fourteen analysts that are covering the company, MarketBeat reports. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. The average 12 month price objective among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $26.93.

GAP has been the subject of a number of research reports. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price objective on GAP from $34.00 to $25.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Argus raised GAP from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $27.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. UBS Group reduced their price target on GAP from $26.00 to $25.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, March 10th. Robert W. Baird lowered their target price on GAP from $31.00 to $29.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered GAP from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $30.00 to $24.00 in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th.

GAP Price Performance

Shares of GAP stock opened at $26.43 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a current ratio of 1.54. GAP has a 52 week low of $16.99 and a 52 week high of $26.67. The stock has a market capitalization of $9.95 billion, a PE ratio of 12.24, a PEG ratio of 0.94 and a beta of 2.24. The stock's fifty day moving average is $20.91 and its 200-day moving average is $22.45.

GAP (NYSE:GAP - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.07 billion. Equities research analysts expect that GAP will post 2.02 EPS for the current fiscal year.

GAP Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 30th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 9th were issued a dividend of $0.165 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, April 9th. This is a boost from GAP's previous quarterly dividend of $0.15. This represents a $0.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.50%. GAP's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 29.86%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Mark Breitbard sold 16,055 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $20.43, for a total value of $328,003.65. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 123,985 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,533,013.55. The trade was a 11.46% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Katrina O'connell sold 80,029 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $20.35, for a total value of $1,628,590.15. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 8,290 shares of the company's stock, valued at $168,701.50. The trade was a 90.61% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 177,495 shares of company stock worth $3,598,459 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 30.56% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On GAP

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

GAP Company Profile

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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