GAP Sees Unusually Large Options Volume (NYSE:GAP)

The Gap, Inc. (NYSE:GAP - Get Free Report) saw some unusual options trading activity on Tuesday. Investors purchased 44,102 call options on the company. This is an increase of approximately 236% compared to the typical volume of 13,116 call options.

GAP Trading Down 1.4 %

NYSE GAP traded down $0.34 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $23.74. 3,891,025 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,978,631. The stock has a market cap of $8.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.08 and a beta of 2.37. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $23.51. The company has a current ratio of 1.54, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47. GAP has a 1-year low of $18.34 and a 1-year high of $30.75.

GAP (NYSE:GAP - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, November 21st. The company reported $0.72 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.56 by $0.16. GAP had a net margin of 5.40% and a return on equity of 29.03%. The company had revenue of $3.83 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.81 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.59 EPS. GAP's quarterly revenue was up 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that GAP will post 2.02 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

GAP Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 29th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, January 8th will be issued a dividend of $0.15 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, January 8th. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.53%. GAP's dividend payout ratio is 27.78%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

GAP has been the topic of several recent research reports. Evercore ISI raised their price objective on GAP from $32.00 to $33.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, November 22nd. Telsey Advisory Group restated a "market perform" rating and set a $26.00 price target on shares of GAP in a report on Monday, November 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of GAP from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and raised their price objective for the company from $28.00 to $30.00 in a report on Monday, December 2nd. Bank of America boosted their target price on shares of GAP from $25.00 to $28.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, November 22nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of GAP from $28.00 to $30.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $28.50.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Katrina O'connell sold 87,557 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $25.45, for a total value of $2,228,325.65. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director William Sydney Fisher sold 243,868 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $26.02, for a total value of $6,345,445.36. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 3,820,467 shares in the company, valued at $99,408,551.34. This trade represents a 6.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 955,375 shares of company stock valued at $24,316,219. 31.00% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

GAP Company Profile

The Gap, Inc operates as an apparel retail company. The company offers apparel, accessories, and personal care products for men, women, and children under the Old Navy, Gap, Banana Republic, and Athleta brands. Its products include adult apparel and accessories; and fitness and lifestyle products for use in yoga, training, sports, travel, and everyday activities for women and girls.