BMO Capital Markets Raises GAP (NYSE:GPS) Price Target to $23.00

GAP (NYSE:GPS) had its price objective raised by BMO Capital Markets from $18.00 to $23.00 in a report released on Friday morning, Benzinga reports. They currently have a market perform rating on the apparel retailer’s stock.

Several other equities analysts have also weighed in on GPS. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on GAP from $24.00 to $25.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research note on Thursday, April 25th. TheStreet upgraded GAP from a c rating to a b- rating in a research note on Thursday, March 7th. Telsey Advisory Group lifted their price target on GAP from $22.00 to $29.00 and gave the company a market perform rating in a research note on Friday. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on GAP from $24.00 to $25.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a research note on Friday, March 22nd. Finally, Barclays boosted their price objective on GAP from $26.00 to $28.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a research note on Friday, March 22nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, GAP currently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $25.51.

GAP Stock Performance

Shares of GPS stock opened at $28.96 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $10.82 billion, a PE ratio of 16.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.75 and a beta of 2.34. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $22.73 and a 200-day simple moving average of $21.29. The company has a quick ratio of 0.78, a current ratio of 1.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57. GAP has a 52-week low of $7.79 and a 52-week high of $29.08.

GAP (NYSE:GPS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 30th. The apparel retailer reported $0.41 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.14 by $0.27. GAP had a return on equity of 28.33% and a net margin of 4.52%. The firm had revenue of $3.39 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.29 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.01 EPS. GAP’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts expect that GAP will post 1.4 EPS for the current year.

GAP Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 31st. Investors of record on Wednesday, July 10th will be issued a $0.15 dividend. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.07%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, July 10th. GAP’s dividend payout ratio is presently 33.33%.

Insider Activity at GAP

In related news, insider Julie Gruber sold 24,180 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 1,384 shares in the company, valued at $31,832. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, CEO Mark Breitbard sold 27,222 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $28.18, for a total value of $767,115.96. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 123,985 shares in the company, valued at $3,493,897.30. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Julie Gruber sold 24,180 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 12th. The shares were 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 266,723 shares of company stock worth $6,886,765. Insiders own 30.81% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. BNP Paribas Financial Markets lifted its stake in GAP by 33.0% during the fourth quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 367,130 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $7,677,000 after purchasing an additional 91,151 shares in the last quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC lifted its stake in GAP by 11.3% during the fourth quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 41,265 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $863,000 after purchasing an additional 4,200 shares in the last quarter. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky lifted its stake in GAP by 90.6% during the third quarter. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky now owns 74,080 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $787,000 after purchasing an additional 35,223 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC acquired a new position in GAP during the fourth quarter worth $42,000. Finally, New York State Teachers Retirement System lifted its stake in GAP by 1.2% during the fourth quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System now owns 263,675 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $5,513,000 after purchasing an additional 3,109 shares in the last quarter. 58.81% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

GAP Company Profile

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.