The Gap, Inc. (NYSE:GPS) Short Interest Down 10.9% in June

The Gap, Inc. (NYSE:GPS) was the recipient of a large decrease in short interest in June. As of June 15th, there was short interest totalling 31,510,000 shares, a decrease of 10.9% from the May 31st total of 35,380,000 shares. Currently, 14.2% of the company’s shares are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 8,430,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 3.7 days.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

GPS has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. TheStreet upgraded shares of GAP from a “c” rating to a “b-” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 7th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on shares of GAP from $24.00 to $25.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 25th. Evercore ISI raised their price target on GAP from $24.00 to $32.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, May 31st. StockNews.com cut GAP from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 4th. Finally, Barclays raised their target price on GAP from $28.00 to $31.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, June 3rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $25.98.

GAP Stock Performance

Shares of GAP stock traded up $0.86 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $23.86. 4,057,249 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 7,894,115. The company has a current ratio of 1.50, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55. The business has a 50-day moving average of $23.40 and a 200-day moving average of $22.16. GAP has a 1 year low of $8.58 and a 1 year high of $30.75. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.26, a P/E/G ratio of 4.07 and a beta of 2.39.

GAP (NYSE:GPS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 30th. The apparel retailer reported $0.41 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.14 by $0.27. The company had revenue of $3.39 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.29 billion. GAP had a net margin of 4.52% and a return on equity of 27.57%. GAP’s quarterly revenue was up 3.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.01 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that GAP will post 1.74 EPS for the current fiscal year.

GAP Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 31st. Shareholders 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 2.51%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, July 10th. GAP’s dividend payout ratio is presently 33.33%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other GAP news, CFO Katrina O’connell sold 20,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $29.01, for a total transaction of $580,200.00. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other GAP news, CFO Katrina O’connell sold 20,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $29.01, for a total value of $580,200.00. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Tracy Gardner sold 2,934 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, July 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $23.48, for a total value of $68,890.32. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 51,901 shares in the company, valued at $1,218,635.48. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 23,132 shares of company stock valued at $654,003. Corporate insiders own 31.00% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On GAP

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Hennessy Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in shares of GAP by 14.1% in the first quarter. Hennessy Advisors Inc. now owns 2,305,600 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $63,519,000 after buying an additional 285,000 shares in the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets grew its stake in shares of GAP by 33.0% during the 4th 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 during the period. Polianta Ltd purchased a new position in shares of GAP in the 4th quarter valued at about $968,000. SG Americas Securities LLC lifted its stake in shares of GAP by 266.4% in the fourth quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 48,820 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $1,021,000 after purchasing an additional 35,495 shares during the period. Finally, Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky boosted its holdings 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 buying an additional 35,223 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 58.81% of the company’s stock.

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.