Morgan Stanley Boosts GAP (NYSE:GPS) Price Target to $20.00

GAP (NYSE:GPS) had its price target lifted by Morgan Stanley from $19.00 to $20.00 in a research report released on Monday, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an equal weight rating on the apparel retailer’s stock.

Several other equities analysts have also recently weighed in on GPS. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on shares of GAP from $24.00 to $25.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research note on Thursday, April 25th. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on shares of GAP from $22.00 to $24.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a research note on Friday, March 22nd. KGI Securities upped their price objective on GAP from $9.10 to $25.20 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research note on Friday, March 22nd. StockNews.com raised GAP from a hold rating to a buy rating in a report on Thursday, February 15th. Finally, Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on GAP to $23.00 and gave the company a hold rating in a report on Friday, March 22nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $20.39.

GAP Price Performance

Shares of GPS opened at $22.41 on Monday. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $22.92 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $20.19. The firm has a market cap of $8.37 billion, a PE ratio of 16.72, a P/E/G ratio of 1.33 and a beta of 2.34. The company has a current ratio of 1.42, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57. GAP has a 1-year low of $7.22 and a 1-year high of $28.59.

GAP (NYSE:GPS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 7th. The apparel retailer reported $0.49 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.20 by $0.29. GAP had a return on equity of 22.56% and a net margin of 3.37%. The company had revenue of $4.30 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.22 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned ($0.75) earnings per share. GAP’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts anticipate that GAP will post 1.36 EPS for the current year.

GAP Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 31st. Investors of record on Wednesday, July 10th will be given a dividend of $0.15 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, July 10th. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.68%. GAP’s dividend payout ratio is 44.78%.

Insider Activity at GAP

In other GAP news, CEO Mark Breitbard sold 27,222 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $28.18, for a total value of $767,115.96. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 123,985 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,493,897.30. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, CFO Katrina O’connell sold 45,266 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $22.58, for a total value of $1,022,106.28. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 5,937 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $134,057.46. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Mark Breitbard sold 27,222 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $28.18, for a total transaction of $767,115.96. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 123,985 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,493,897.30. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 266,723 shares of company stock valued at $6,886,765. Corporate insiders own 31.00% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On GAP

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its position in shares of GAP by 2.9% during the 3rd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 2,906,701 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $30,898,000 after buying an additional 80,792 shares in the last quarter. Hennessy Advisors Inc. raised its position in GAP by 14.1% during the first quarter. Hennessy Advisors Inc. now owns 2,305,600 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $63,519,000 after purchasing an additional 285,000 shares during the period. California Public Employees Retirement System lifted its stake in shares of GAP by 6.5% in the 3rd quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 368,274 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $3,915,000 after purchasing an additional 22,316 shares during the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets lifted its stake in shares of GAP by 33.0% in the 4th quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 367,130 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $7,677,000 after purchasing an additional 91,151 shares during the last quarter. Finally, New York State Teachers Retirement System boosted its holdings in shares of GAP by 2.7% in the 1st quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System now owns 270,730 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $7,459,000 after purchasing an additional 7,055 shares during the period. 58.81% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.