JPMorgan Chase & Co. Issues Positive Forecast for GAP (NYSE:GAP) Stock Price

GAP (NYSE:GAP) had its price target boosted by JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $29.00 to $30.00 in a report released on Friday morning,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an overweight rating on the stock.

Other equities analysts have also recently issued research reports about the stock. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed a “market perform” rating and issued a $26.00 price target on shares of GAP in a research report on Friday. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of GAP from $29.00 to $30.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. Argus raised shares of GAP from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $27.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on shares of GAP from $23.00 to $25.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. Finally, Guggenheim reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $35.00 price target on shares of GAP in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $29.33.

GAP Price Performance

GAP stock opened at $23.24 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $8.76 billion, a PE ratio of 10.76, a PEG ratio of 0.94 and a beta of 2.38. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $23.14. The company has a quick ratio of 0.84, a current ratio of 1.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47. GAP has a 1 year low of $18.54 and a 1 year high of $30.75.

GAP (NYSE:GAP) 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 net margin of 5.40% and a return on equity of 29.03%. The company had revenue of $4.15 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.07 billion. On average, analysts anticipate that GAP will post 2.02 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

GAP Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 30th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 9th will be paid a dividend of $0.165 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 9th. This represents a $0.66 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.84%. This is a positive change from GAP’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.15. GAP’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 29.86%.

Insider Transactions at GAP

In other news, major shareholder John J. Fisher sold 250,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $24.18, for a total transaction of $6,045,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 1,000,752 shares in the company, valued at $24,198,183.36. This trade represents a 19.99 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 31.00% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

About GAP

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.