GAP (NYSE:GPS) Stock Rating Upgraded by TD Cowen

TD Cowen upgraded shares of GAP (NYSE:GPS) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a report published on Tuesday, Marketbeat Ratings reports. TD Cowen currently has $30.00 price objective on the apparel retailer’s stock, up from their previous price objective of $28.00.

Several other equities analysts have also recently weighed in on the stock. TheStreet raised shares of GAP from a c rating to a b- rating in a research report on Thursday, March 7th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of GAP from $20.00 to $27.00 and gave the company an equal weight rating in a research note on Friday, May 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of GAP from $20.00 to $27.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a research note on Friday, May 31st. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on shares of GAP from $18.00 to $23.00 and gave the company a market perform rating in a research note on Friday, May 31st. Finally, Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on shares of GAP from $23.00 to $28.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a research note on Friday, May 31st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of Hold and an average target price of $25.98.

GAP Price Performance

Shares of NYSE GPS opened at $24.03 on Tuesday. GAP has a fifty-two week low of $8.51 and a fifty-two week high of $30.75. The stock has a market cap of $9.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.35, a PEG ratio of 4.20 and a beta of 2.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a current ratio of 1.50. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $23.17 and its 200 day simple moving average is $22.09.

GAP (NYSE:GPS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 30th. The apparel retailer reported $0.41 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.14 by $0.27. GAP had a net margin of 4.52% and a return on equity of 27.57%. The business had revenue of $3.39 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.29 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.01 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts anticipate that GAP will post 1.74 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

GAP Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 31st. Investors of record on Wednesday, July 10th will be paid a $0.15 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, July 10th. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.50%. GAP’s dividend payout ratio is 33.33%.

Insider Activity at GAP

In related news, CFO Katrina O’connell sold 20,000 shares of GAP stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $29.01, for a total value of $580,200.00. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 30.81% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Plato Investment Management Ltd boosted its holdings in GAP by 37.2% in the 1st quarter. Plato Investment Management Ltd now owns 1,965 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $54,000 after purchasing an additional 533 shares during the period. SVB Wealth LLC bought a new position in GAP in the 1st quarter valued at $207,000. Pinkerton Retirement Specialists LLC boosted its holdings in GAP by 14.4% in the 1st quarter. Pinkerton Retirement Specialists LLC now owns 33,597 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $926,000 after purchasing an additional 4,240 shares during the period. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division bought a new position in GAP in the 1st quarter valued at $335,000. Finally, New York State Teachers Retirement System boosted its holdings in 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 valued at $7,459,000 after purchasing an additional 7,055 shares during the period. 58.81% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About GAP

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.