Traders Buy Large Volume of Call Options on GAP (NYSE:GAP)

The Gap, Inc. (NYSE:GAP) saw some unusual options trading on Friday. Investors purchased 38,881 call options on the company. This represents an increase of approximately 79% compared to the average volume of 21,689 call options.

GAP Price Performance

Shares of GAP traded up $1.80 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $24.86. The stock had a trading volume of 13,703,814 shares, compared to its average volume of 9,167,173. The business has a fifty day moving average of $22.54 and a 200 day moving average of $22.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a current ratio of 1.68. The firm has a market cap of $9.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.65, a PEG ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 2.17. GAP has a 12 month low of $16.99 and a 12 month high of $29.29.

GAP (NYSE:GAP) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 20th. The company reported $0.62 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.58 by $0.04. GAP had a return on equity of 27.04% and a net margin of 5.86%.The business had revenue of $3.94 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.90 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.72 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 3.0% on a year-over-year basis. GAP has set its FY 2025 guidance at EPS. Equities analysts predict that GAP will post 2.02 EPS for the current year.

GAP Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 28th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, January 7th will be issued a dividend of $0.165 per share. This represents a $0.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, January 7th. GAP’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 28.21%.

Insider Activity at GAP

In other news, Director Robert J. Fisher sold 500,000 shares of GAP stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $22.90, for a total value of $11,450,000.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 2,829,502 shares in the company, valued at approximately $64,795,595.80. This trade represents a 15.02% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director William Sydney Fisher sold 200,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $23.86, for a total value of $4,772,000.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 3,253,453 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $77,627,388.58. This represents a 5.79% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last quarter, insiders sold 943,064 shares of company stock valued at $22,011,784. Company insiders own 30.56% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On GAP

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. New York State Common Retirement Fund bought a new position in shares of GAP during the first quarter worth $2,351,000. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky purchased a new stake in GAP in the 1st quarter worth $1,418,000. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS bought a new position in shares of GAP during the 1st quarter valued at about $1,057,000. Neo Ivy Capital Management purchased a new position in shares of GAP during the first quarter valued at about $322,000. Finally, LSV Asset Management bought a new stake in shares of GAP in the first quarter worth about $32,655,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 58.81% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

GAP has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Barclays lowered GAP from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and reduced their target price for the stock from $24.00 to $19.00 in a report on Friday, August 22nd. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on GAP from $26.00 to $29.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on GAP from $30.00 to $31.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of GAP in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, Bank of America raised their price objective on shares of GAP from $23.00 to $27.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $27.75.

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.