GAP (NYSE:GPS) Price Target Raised to $20.00

GAP (NYSE:GPS) had its price objective raised by Wells Fargo & Company from $16.00 to $20.00 in a research note published on Friday, Benzinga reports. Wells Fargo & Company currently has an overweight rating on the apparel retailer’s stock.

GPS has been the topic of a number of other reports. Guggenheim restated a buy rating and issued a $18.00 target price on shares of GAP in a report on Wednesday, September 13th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on shares of GAP from $13.00 to $18.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a report on Friday. Evercore ISI initiated coverage on GAP in a research note on Tuesday, November 7th. They set an outperform rating and a $17.00 price target on the stock. StockNews.com started coverage on shares of GAP in a research note on Thursday, October 5th. They issued a hold rating on the stock. Finally, Barclays raised shares of GAP from an equal weight rating to an overweight rating and increased their target price for the stock from $9.00 to $13.00 in a research note on Tuesday, August 1st. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, GAP currently has an average rating of Hold and an average target price of $13.13.

GAP Price Performance

Shares of GPS opened at $18.43 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 1.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72. GAP has a twelve month low of $7.22 and a twelve month high of $18.68. The company has a market capitalization of $6.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 63.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 1.92. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $12.04 and a 200 day moving average of $10.37.

GAP (NYSE:GPS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 16th. The apparel retailer reported $0.59 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.20 by $0.39. GAP had a net margin of 0.71% and a return on equity of 5.06%. The business had revenue of $3.77 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.61 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.71 EPS. The company’s revenue was down 6.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that GAP will post 0.72 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

GAP Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 31st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, January 3rd will be given a dividend of $0.15 per share. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.26%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, January 2nd. GAP’s payout ratio is currently 206.90%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Katrina O’connell sold 24,509 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $10.36, for a total transaction of $253,913.24. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, CFO Katrina O’connell sold 24,509 shares of GAP stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $10.36, for a total value of $253,913.24. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Sarah Gilligan sold 8,712 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $14.00, for a total value of $121,968.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 11,741 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $164,374. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 33,768 shares of company stock worth $382,237 over the last ninety days. 30.81% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of GAP

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Ameriprise Financial Inc. boosted its holdings in GAP by 73.4% in the third quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 3,572,524 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $37,976,000 after acquiring an additional 1,512,067 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its position in shares of GAP by 1.3% during the third quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 3,122,321 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $25,633,000 after purchasing an additional 40,348 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of GAP by 5.0% during the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,036,564 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $27,117,000 after purchasing an additional 145,468 shares during the period. Marshall Wace LLP acquired a new stake in shares of GAP during the fourth quarter worth about $20,617,000. Finally, BNP Paribas Arbitrage SNC raised its position in shares of GAP by 6.0% during the second quarter. BNP Paribas Arbitrage SNC now owns 1,405,421 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $12,550,000 after purchasing an additional 80,128 shares during the period. 61.71% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About GAP

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 denim and khakis; eyewear, jewelry, shoes, handbags, and fragrances; and fitness and lifestyle products for use in yoga, training, sports, travel, and everyday activities for women and girls.