The Gap, Inc. (NYSE:GAP) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Brokerages

The Gap, Inc. (NYSE:GAP) has earned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the eighteen analysts that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, ten have given a buy recommendation and two have assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month target price among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $28.7143.

GAP has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Barclays lowered their target price on shares of GAP from $33.00 to $26.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 29th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on shares of GAP from $30.00 to $26.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 29th. Bank of America lowered their target price on shares of GAP from $29.00 to $26.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 29th. BTIG Research reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $28.00 target price on shares of GAP in a research note on Friday, May 29th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $27.00 target price (down from $35.00) on shares of GAP in a research note on Friday, May 29th.

GAP Stock Up 0.0%

GAP stock opened at $20.23 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.81, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41. GAP has a 1 year low of $18.68 and a 1 year high of $29.36. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $22.69 and a 200 day simple moving average of $25.07. The firm has a market cap of $7.28 billion, a PE ratio of 7.96, a PEG ratio of 1.19 and a beta of 2.03.

GAP (NYSE:GAP) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 28th. The company reported $0.38 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.39 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $3.50 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.52 billion. GAP had a return on equity of 21.13% and a net margin of 6.25%.The firm’s revenue was up 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.51 EPS. GAP has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.300-2.400 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that GAP will post 2.34 EPS for the current fiscal year.

GAP Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 29th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, July 8th will be paid a dividend of $0.175 per share. This represents a $0.70 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, July 8th. GAP’s dividend payout ratio is currently 27.56%.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Eric Kayen Chan sold 13,377 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $26.18, for a total transaction of $350,209.86. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 21,967 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $575,096.06. This represents a 37.85% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, insider Amanda J. Thompson sold 25,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $25.14, for a total transaction of $628,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 86,228 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,167,771.92. The trade was a 22.48% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 343,679 shares of company stock valued at $8,741,864 over the last three months. 31.00% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On GAP

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Ameriprise Financial Inc. boosted its stake in GAP by 4.1% in the third quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 4,588,800 shares of the company’s stock valued at $98,154,000 after acquiring an additional 180,991 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in GAP by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,291,846 shares of the company’s stock worth $110,750,000 after purchasing an additional 14,141 shares during the period. LSV Asset Management raised its holdings in GAP by 3.6% in the fourth quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 3,462,702 shares of the company’s stock worth $88,645,000 after purchasing an additional 121,001 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its holdings in GAP by 13.0% in the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 3,195,934 shares of the company’s stock worth $81,816,000 after purchasing an additional 368,191 shares during the period. Finally, Miller Howard Investments Inc. NY raised its holdings in GAP by 112.2% in the first quarter. Miller Howard Investments Inc. NY now owns 1,704,021 shares of the company’s stock worth $41,237,000 after purchasing an additional 900,855 shares during the period. 58.81% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About GAP

Gap Inc is a global specialty retailer renowned for its portfolio of apparel and accessories brands, including Gap, Banana Republic, Old Navy and Athleta. The company designs, sources and markets clothing across a broad price range and style spectrum, catering to men, women and children. Its offerings extend from everyday wardrobe essentials such as denim, tees and outerwear to performance and lifestyle pieces, reflecting each brand’s distinct identity and price point.

Founded in San Francisco in 1969 by Donald and Doris Fisher, Gap Inc has grown into one of the world’s largest apparel companies.