GAP Sees Unusually High Options Volume (NYSE:GAP)

The Gap, Inc. (NYSE:GAP) was the target of unusually large options trading on Monday. Traders bought 20,337 put options on the company. This is an increase of approximately 35% compared to the typical volume of 15,094 put options.

GAP Stock Down 2.4 %

Shares of GAP stock traded down $0.56 on Monday, reaching $22.59. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 7,398,180 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,041,091. GAP has a 52-week low of $18.54 and a 52-week high of $30.75. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.44, a P/E/G ratio of 0.94 and a beta of 2.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a current ratio of 1.54 and a quick ratio of 0.84. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $23.14.

GAP (NYSE:GAP) last released its earnings results on Thursday, March 6th. The company reported $0.54 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.36 by $0.18. GAP had a net margin of 5.40% and a return on equity of 29.03%. The business had revenue of $4.15 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.07 billion. Sell-side analysts forecast that GAP will post 2.02 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

GAP Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 30th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 9th will be issued a dividend of $0.165 per share. This is a positive change from GAP’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.15. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 9th. This represents a $0.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.92%. GAP’s dividend payout ratio is presently 29.86%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, major shareholder John J. Fisher sold 250,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $24.18, for a total transaction of $6,045,000.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 1,000,752 shares in the company, valued at $24,198,183.36. This represents a 19.99 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 31.00% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of GAP from $29.00 to $30.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. Bank of America boosted their target price on shares of GAP from $25.00 to $28.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. Argus raised GAP from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $27.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on GAP from $29.00 to $30.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday. Finally, Robert W. Baird dropped their target price on GAP from $31.00 to $29.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $29.33.

About GAP

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.