The Gap, Inc. (NYSE:GPS) Short Interest Down 5.4% in April

The Gap, Inc. (NYSE:GPS) was the recipient of a significant drop in short interest in the month of April. As of April 15th, there was short interest totalling 31,910,000 shares, a drop of 5.4% from the March 31st total of 33,740,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 7,740,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 4.1 days. Approximately 14.4% of the shares of the stock are sold short.

Insider Activity at GAP

In related news, CFO Katrina O’connell sold 2,724 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $23.70, for a total value of $64,558.80. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other GAP news, CFO Katrina O’connell sold 2,724 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $23.70, for a total transaction of $64,558.80. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Julie Gruber sold 24,180 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $23.00, for a total transaction of $556,140.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 1,384 shares in the company, valued at approximately $31,832. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 266,723 shares of company stock worth $6,886,765 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 31.00% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. GAMMA Investing LLC purchased a new position in GAP in the 4th quarter worth $42,000. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC lifted its stake in GAP by 317.5% in the 3rd quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 2,793 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 2,124 shares in the last quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System lifted its stake in GAP by 1.2% in the 4th quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System now owns 263,675 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $5,513,000 after buying an additional 3,109 shares in the last quarter. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S purchased a new position in GAP in the 4th quarter worth approximately $73,000. Finally, Nisa Investment Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of GAP by 11.3% during the 4th quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 41,265 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $863,000 after buying an additional 4,200 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 58.81% of the company’s stock.

GAP Trading Down 2.7 %

GPS traded down $0.58 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $20.67. 2,740,549 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 7,503,675. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.87, a P/E/G ratio of 1.31 and a beta of 2.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57, a current ratio of 1.42 and a quick ratio of 0.78. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $22.64 and a two-hundred day moving average of $19.78. GAP has a 52 week low of $7.22 and a 52 week high of $28.59.

GAP (NYSE:GPS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 7th. The apparel retailer reported $0.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.20 by $0.29. GAP had a return on equity of 22.56% and a net margin of 3.37%. The business had revenue of $4.30 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.22 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned ($0.75) earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 1.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts anticipate that GAP will post 1.36 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

GAP Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 1st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 10th will be paid a dividend of $0.15 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 9th. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.90%. GAP’s payout ratio is currently 44.78%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

GPS has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of GAP from $26.00 to $28.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, March 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised GAP from an “underweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $16.00 to $20.00 in a report on Monday, February 26th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on GAP from $14.00 to $18.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, March 22nd. Telsey Advisory Group boosted their price objective on GAP from $17.00 to $22.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, March 8th. Finally, Cowen boosted their price objective on GAP from $19.00 to $21.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, March 22nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $18.95.

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.