GAP (NYSE:GAP) Raised to “Buy” at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of GAP (NYSE:GAP) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research note published on Saturday morning.

Several other research analysts have also recently weighed in on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price objective on GAP from $28.00 to $26.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed a “market perform” rating and set a $26.00 price target on shares of GAP in a research report on Friday, May 30th. Citigroup dropped their price target on GAP from $33.00 to $30.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 30th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on GAP from $30.00 to $27.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “hold” rating and set a $29.00 price target (up previously from $26.00) on shares of GAP in a research report on Wednesday, May 21st. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $28.53.

GAP Stock Down 1.3%

Shares of NYSE:GAP opened at $20.39 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $7.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.83, a PEG ratio of 2.24 and a beta of 2.14. The company has a quick ratio of 0.98, a current ratio of 1.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45. GAP has a 12-month low of $16.99 and a 12-month high of $29.29. The business’s 50 day moving average is $22.64 and its 200 day moving average is $22.20.

GAP (NYSE:GAP) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, May 29th. The company reported $0.51 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.44 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $3.46 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.41 billion. GAP had a return on equity of 27.86% and a net margin of 5.80%. GAP’s quarterly revenue was up 2.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.41 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that GAP will post 2.02 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

GAP Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 30th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, July 9th will be paid a $0.165 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, July 9th. This represents a $0.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.24%. GAP’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 28.57%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Mark Breitbard sold 51,385 shares of GAP stock in a transaction on Friday, May 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $27.00, for a total transaction of $1,387,395.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 123,985 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,347,595. The trade was a 29.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 31.00% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On GAP

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Bank of New York Mellon Corp purchased a new stake in shares of GAP in the first quarter worth about $56,763,000. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of GAP in the first quarter worth about $832,000. New York State Teachers Retirement System purchased a new stake in shares of GAP in the first quarter worth about $5,065,000. New Mexico Educational Retirement Board purchased a new stake in shares of GAP in the first quarter worth about $892,000. Finally, Handelsbanken Fonder AB purchased a new stake in shares of GAP in the first quarter worth about $1,107,000. 58.81% of the stock is currently 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.