GAP (NYSE:GAP) Stock Price Up 8.9% on Analyst Upgrade

The Gap, Inc. (NYSE:GAP) shot up 8.9% during mid-day trading on Tuesday after Citigroup raised their price target on the stock from $23.00 to $25.00. Citigroup currently has a neutral rating on the stock. GAP traded as high as $27.04 and last traded at $26.9590. 4,360,561 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 53% from the average session volume of 9,203,354 shares. The stock had previously closed at $24.75.

GAP has been the subject of a number of other reports. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of GAP from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, August 3rd. Barclays cut GAP from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and reduced their target price for the stock from $24.00 to $19.00 in a research report on Friday, August 22nd. UBS Group upped their target price on GAP from $25.00 to $26.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on GAP from $26.00 to $29.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday. Finally, Bank of America boosted their price objective on GAP from $23.00 to $27.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $27.57.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director William Sydney Fisher sold 200,000 shares of GAP stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $23.86, for a total value of $4,772,000.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 3,253,453 shares in the company, valued at approximately $77,627,388.58. The trade was a 5.79% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Robert J. Fisher sold 500,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $22.90, for a total value of $11,450,000.00. Following the sale, the director owned 2,829,502 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $64,795,595.80. This represents a 15.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 943,064 shares of company stock valued at $22,011,784. Company insiders own 30.56% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Dodge & Cox bought a new stake in GAP during the 1st quarter valued at $592,222,000. Ameriprise Financial Inc. raised its stake in shares of GAP by 4.1% during the third quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 4,588,800 shares of the company’s stock valued at $98,154,000 after acquiring an additional 180,991 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of GAP by 3.8% during the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,166,545 shares of the company’s stock worth $91,399,000 after purchasing an additional 151,297 shares during the period. LSV Asset Management grew its stake in shares of GAP by 4.9% in the third quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 3,341,701 shares of the company’s stock worth $71,479,000 after purchasing an additional 157,224 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its stake in shares of GAP by 5.3% in the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 2,899,563 shares of the company’s stock worth $63,239,000 after purchasing an additional 145,427 shares during the last quarter. 58.81% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

GAP Stock Performance

The business has a fifty day moving average of $22.59 and a 200-day moving average of $22.50. The company has a market cap of $10.01 billion, a PE ratio of 11.54, a P/E/G ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 2.17. The company has a current ratio of 1.68, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43.

GAP (NYSE:GAP) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 20th. The company reported $0.62 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.58 by $0.04. GAP had a return on equity of 27.04% and a net margin of 5.86%.The business had revenue of $3.94 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.90 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.72 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 3.0% on a year-over-year basis. GAP has set its FY 2025 guidance at EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that The Gap, Inc. will post 2.02 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 28th. Investors of record on Wednesday, January 7th will be paid a $0.165 dividend. This represents a $0.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, January 7th. GAP’s dividend payout ratio is presently 29.46%.

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.