GAP (NYSE:GAP) Stock Breaks Below 50-Day Moving Average – What’s Next?

The Gap, Inc. (NYSE:GAP)’s stock price passed below its fifty day moving average during trading on Friday. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $22.32 and traded as low as $21.44. GAP shares last traded at $21.5360, with a volume of 6,059,729 shares.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently commented on GAP shares. BTIG Research increased their target price on shares of GAP from $26.00 to $27.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 28th. Bank of America increased their price objective on shares of GAP from $26.00 to $27.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, August 28th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on shares of GAP from $25.00 to $27.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, August 31st. Barclays increased their target price on shares of GAP from $20.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 28th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised GAP from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 29th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating, twelve have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $27.07.

GAP Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38, a current ratio of 1.82 and a quick ratio of 1.11. The stock has a market cap of $7.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.43, a P/E/G ratio of 0.93 and a beta of 2.12. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $22.32 and its 200 day moving average is $23.04.

GAP (NYSE:GAP) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 27th. The company reported $0.52 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.48 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $3.65 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.69 billion. GAP had a return on equity of 19.72% and a net margin of 8.14%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.57 EPS. GAP has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.350-2.450 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that The Gap, Inc. will post 2.40 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

GAP Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, October 28th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, October 7th were paid a $0.1750 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, October 7th. This represents a $0.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.3%. GAP’s payout ratio is currently 20.90%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director William Fisher sold 500,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $23.89, for a total transaction of $11,945,000.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 15,903,198 shares in the company, valued at $379,927,400.22. This trade represents a 3.05% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Julie Gruber sold 27,538 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $23.56, for a total transaction of $648,795.28. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 30,876 shares in the company, valued at $727,438.56. The trade was a 47.14% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold a total of 1,027,538 shares of company stock valued at $24,249,556 over the last 90 days. 31.00% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of GAP

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of GAP. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new stake in GAP during the 2nd quarter valued at about $428,824,000. Miller Howard Investments Inc. NY boosted its stake in shares of GAP by 23.1% during the third quarter. Miller Howard Investments Inc. NY now owns 1,998,779 shares of the company’s stock valued at $45,652,000 after acquiring an additional 374,739 shares during the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE acquired a new stake in GAP in the second quarter valued at $30,345,000. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its holdings in shares of GAP by 5.1% in the 2nd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 720,170 shares of the company’s stock worth $13,453,000 after acquiring an additional 35,103 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. acquired a new stake in GAP in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $12,794,000. 58.81% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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. The Old Navy Global segment offers clothing and accessories for adults and children.