GAP (NYSE:GAP) Upgraded at Wall Street Zen

GAP (NYSE:GAP) was upgraded by equities researchers at Wall Street Zen from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Friday.

A number of other research firms also recently weighed in on GAP. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on GAP from $22.00 to $24.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, November 21st. Citigroup raised their price objective on GAP from $23.00 to $25.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on GAP from $32.00 to $36.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, November 21st. Evercore ISI upped their target price on GAP from $25.00 to $28.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, November 21st. Finally, Zacks Research raised GAP from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, October 20th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $27.57.

GAP Stock Down 1.8%

GAP stock traded down $0.49 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $27.05. 4,091,700 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 9,239,349. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $22.96 and its 200-day moving average is $22.61. GAP has a 12 month low of $16.99 and a 12 month high of $29.29. The company has a market cap of $10.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.56, a PEG ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 2.17. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 1.68 and a quick ratio of 0.96.

GAP (NYSE:GAP) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 25th. The company reported $0.62 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.58 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $3.94 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.90 billion. GAP had a return on equity of 27.04% and a net margin of 5.86%.GAP’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.72 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts expect that GAP will post 2.02 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director William Sydney Fisher sold 243,064 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $23.82, for a total transaction of $5,789,784.48. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 3,453,453 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $82,261,250.46. The trade was a 6.58% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Robert J. Fisher sold 500,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 completion of the sale, the director owned 2,829,502 shares in the company, valued at approximately $64,795,595.80. This trade represents a 15.02% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 1,008,137 shares of company stock valued at $23,769,085. 30.56% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of GAP

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Dodge & Cox bought a new stake in shares of GAP in the first quarter valued at about $592,222,000. Ameriprise Financial Inc. raised its stake in GAP by 4.1% in the 3rd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 4,588,800 shares of the company’s stock worth $98,154,000 after purchasing an additional 180,991 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in GAP by 3.8% in the 2nd 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 in the last quarter. LSV Asset Management boosted its holdings in GAP by 4.9% in the 3rd quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 3,341,701 shares of the company’s stock valued at $71,479,000 after purchasing an additional 157,224 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its position in shares of GAP by 5.3% during the 2nd 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 in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 58.81% of the company’s stock.

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.