JPMorgan Chase & Co. Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for GAP (NYSE:GAP) Stock

GAP (NYSE:GAP) had its target price raised by JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $25.00 to $29.00 in a research report sent to investors on Monday,Benzinga reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. currently has an overweight rating on the stock.

Several other research analysts have also recently issued reports on the stock. Barclays reduced their target price on shares of GAP from $33.00 to $26.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, May 12th. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price target on shares of GAP from $34.00 to $25.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company lowered shares of GAP from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and lowered their target price for the stock from $30.00 to $24.00 in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Robert W. Baird lowered their target price on shares of GAP from $31.00 to $29.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Finally, Argus raised shares of GAP from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $27.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, GAP currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $27.21.

GAP Trading Up 2.2%

Shares of GAP stock opened at $27.98 on Monday. 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 firm has a fifty day moving average price of $21.17 and a 200 day moving average price of $22.57. GAP has a 1 year low of $16.99 and a 1 year high of $28.08. The stock has a market cap of $10.54 billion, a PE ratio of 12.95, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.94 and a beta of 2.24.

GAP (NYSE:GAP) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, March 6th. The company reported $0.54 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.36 by $0.18. GAP had a net margin of 5.40% and a return on equity of 29.03%. The firm had revenue of $4.15 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.07 billion. Equities research analysts predict that GAP will post 2.02 earnings per share for the current year.

GAP Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 30th. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 9th were given a dividend of $0.165 per share. This represents a $0.66 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.36%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, April 9th. This is an increase from GAP’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.15. GAP’s dividend payout ratio is 29.86%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Mark Breitbard sold 51,385 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $27.00, for a total transaction of $1,387,395.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 123,985 shares in the company, valued at $3,347,595. This represents a 29.30% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Julie Gruber sold 1,537 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $19.59, for a total transaction of $30,109.83. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 37,395 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $732,568.05. This trade represents a 3.95% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 228,880 shares of company stock worth $4,985,854 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 30.56% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of GAP

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. United Services Automobile Association acquired a new stake in GAP in the 1st quarter valued at about $295,000. Amundi acquired a new stake in GAP in the 1st quarter valued at about $259,000. Dark Forest Capital Management LP acquired a new stake in GAP in the 1st quarter valued at about $4,517,000. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec acquired a new stake in GAP in the 1st quarter valued at about $7,207,000. Finally, Corebridge Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in GAP in the 1st quarter valued at about $5,062,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 58.81% of the company’s stock.

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.