Wall Street Zen Downgrades GAP (NYSE:GAP) to Hold

GAP (NYSE:GAP) was downgraded by Wall Street Zen from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note issued on Saturday.

A number of other research analysts have also issued reports on GAP. Citigroup boosted their price target on GAP from $23.00 to $25.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, November 24th. Guggenheim started coverage on shares of GAP in a report on Tuesday, December 9th. They issued a “neutral” rating for the company. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on GAP from $22.00 to $24.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, November 21st. Bank of America increased their target price on shares of GAP from $23.00 to $27.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, November 21st. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on shares of GAP from $26.00 to $29.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 21st. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $27.57.

GAP Stock Performance

Shares of GAP stock opened at $26.30 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $9.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.74, a PEG ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 2.28. The business has a 50 day moving average of $23.86 and a two-hundred day moving average of $22.47. GAP has a 52 week low of $16.99 and a 52 week high of $29.29. The company has a quick ratio of 0.97, a current ratio of 1.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41.

GAP (NYSE:GAP) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, November 25th. The company reported $0.62 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.58 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $3.94 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.90 billion. GAP had a return on equity of 24.91% and a net margin of 5.57%.The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.72 earnings per share. As a group, analysts anticipate that GAP will post 2.02 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at GAP

In related news, Director Elisabeth B. Donohue sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $27.11, for a total value of $81,330.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 1,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $27,110. This trade represents a 75.00% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, major shareholder John J. Fisher sold 250,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $27.75, for a total value of $6,937,500.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 750,752 shares in the company, valued at $20,833,368. This represents a 24.98% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 1,715,073 shares of company stock valued at $44,677,801 in the last three months. Company insiders own 31.00% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On GAP

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in GAP. Dodge & Cox acquired a new stake in shares of GAP during the 1st quarter valued at about $592,222,000. Ameriprise Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in GAP during the first quarter valued at approximately $63,674,000. LSV Asset Management grew its stake in shares of GAP by 101.0% in the 2nd quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 3,184,477 shares of the company’s stock valued at $69,453,000 after purchasing an additional 1,600,041 shares during the period. Jump Financial LLC grew its stake in shares of GAP by 2,197.8% in the 3rd quarter. Jump Financial LLC now owns 645,150 shares of the company’s stock valued at $13,800,000 after purchasing an additional 617,073 shares during the period. Finally, Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec acquired a new position in shares of GAP in the 1st quarter worth approximately $7,207,000. 58.81% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

GAP Company Profile

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.