GAP (NYSE:GAP) Shares Up 4.9% - Still a Buy?

Shares of The Gap, Inc. (NYSE:GAP - Get Free Report) shot up 4.9% on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $22.14 and last traded at $22.26. 1,249,959 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 81% from the average session volume of 6,444,934 shares. The stock had previously closed at $21.22.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. UBS Group reduced their price target on shares of GAP from $26.00 to $25.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, March 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on GAP from $29.00 to $30.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Robert W. Baird reduced their price target on GAP from $31.00 to $29.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Barclays boosted their price objective on GAP from $32.00 to $33.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Finally, Argus upgraded shares of GAP from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $27.00 price target for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $29.25.

GAP Trading Down 2.2 %

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 stock has a market cap of $7.02 billion, a PE ratio of 8.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.94 and a beta of 2.15. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $21.91 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $22.52.

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

GAP Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 30th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 9th will be given a dividend of $0.165 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 9th. This represents a $0.66 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.53%. This is a positive change from GAP's previous quarterly dividend of $0.15. GAP's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 29.86%.

Insider Transactions at GAP

In other GAP news, CEO Horacio Barbeito sold 40,764 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $20.07, for a total transaction of $818,133.48. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 308 shares of the company's stock, valued at $6,181.56. The trade was a 99.25 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CFO Katrina O'connell sold 80,029 shares of GAP stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $20.35, for a total value of $1,628,590.15. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 8,290 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $168,701.50. This trade represents a 90.61 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 177,495 shares of company stock worth $3,598,459 in the last three months. Insiders own 31.00% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On GAP

An institutional investor recently bought a new position in GAP stock. California State Teachers Retirement System purchased a new position in shares of The Gap, Inc. (NYSE:GAP - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 209,599 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,953,000. California State Teachers Retirement System owned about 0.06% of GAP as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. 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.