GAP Sees Unusually Large Options Volume (NYSE:GAP)

The Gap, Inc. (NYSE:GAP) saw unusually large options trading activity on Friday. Investors acquired 38,881 call options on the stock. This represents an increase of approximately 79% compared to the average volume of 21,689 call options.

GAP Trading Up 7.8%

GAP traded up $1.80 during trading on Friday, hitting $24.86. 13,703,814 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 9,167,173. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a current ratio of 1.68. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $22.54 and a 200 day simple moving average of $22.48. The firm has a market cap of $9.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.65, a P/E/G ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 2.17. GAP has a 1 year low of $16.99 and a 1 year high of $29.29.

GAP (NYSE:GAP) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 20th. The company reported $0.62 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.90 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.72 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 3.0% compared to the same quarter last year. GAP has set its FY 2025 guidance at EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that GAP will post 2.02 EPS for the current year.

GAP Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 28th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, January 7th will be given a dividend of $0.165 per share. This represents a $0.66 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, January 7th. GAP’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 28.21%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently commented on GAP. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of GAP in a research note on Tuesday. Barclays cut GAP from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $24.00 to $19.00 in a report on Friday, August 22nd. Telsey Advisory Group upped their price objective on GAP from $24.00 to $26.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on GAP from $22.00 to $24.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on shares of GAP from $26.00 to $29.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $27.75.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

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

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.