GAP (NYSE:GAP) Trading 3.4% Higher – Time to Buy?

The Gap, Inc. (NYSE:GAP) shares shot up 3.4% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The company traded as high as $20.78 and last traded at $20.89. 787,441 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 87% from the average session volume of 6,096,403 shares. The stock had previously closed at $20.21.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

GAP has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Guggenheim reissued a “buy” rating and set a $35.00 target price on shares of GAP in a report on Friday, November 22nd. UBS Group dropped their price objective on shares of GAP from $26.00 to $25.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 10th. Argus raised shares of GAP from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $27.00 target price for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of GAP from $28.00 to $30.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of GAP from $29.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, GAP currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $29.25.

GAP Stock Down 2.6 %

The stock has a 50-day moving average of $22.50 and a 200 day moving average of $22.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a current ratio of 1.54 and a quick ratio of 0.84. The company has a market cap of $7.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.23, a PEG ratio of 0.94 and a beta of 2.38.

GAP (NYSE:GAP) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 6th. The company reported $0.54 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.36 by $0.18. The company had revenue of $4.15 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.07 billion. GAP had a net margin of 5.40% and a return on equity of 29.03%. Research analysts anticipate that The Gap, Inc. will post 2.02 earnings per share for the current year.

GAP Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 30th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 9th will be paid a $0.165 dividend. This is a positive change from GAP’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.15. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 9th. This represents a $0.66 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.31%. GAP’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 29.86%.

Insider Activity at GAP

In related news, CEO Mark Breitbard sold 16,055 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $20.43, for a total transaction of $328,003.65. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 123,985 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,533,013.55. This trade represents a 11.46 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Katrina O’connell sold 80,029 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $20.35, for a total value of $1,628,590.15. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 8,290 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $168,701.50. The trade was a 90.61 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 136,731 shares of company stock valued at $2,780,326 over the last ninety days. 31.00% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of GAP

A hedge fund recently bought a new stake in GAP stock. California State Teachers Retirement System bought a new position in shares of The Gap, Inc. (NYSE:GAP) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund bought 209,599 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,953,000. California State Teachers Retirement System owned about 0.06% of GAP at the end of the most recent reporting period. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.