GAP (NYSE:GAP) Share Price Crosses Below 50 Day Moving Average – What’s Next?

The Gap, Inc. (NYSE:GAP) shares crossed below its 50-day moving average during trading on Friday. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $22.32 and traded as low as $21.44. GAP shares last traded at $21.5360, with a volume of 6,059,729 shares traded.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have commented on GAP. Needham & Company LLC began coverage on GAP in a report on Friday, October 16th. They set a “hold” rating on the stock. Bank of America upped their price target on GAP from $26.00 to $27.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, August 28th. BTIG Research increased their price target on shares of GAP from $26.00 to $27.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 28th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of GAP from $22.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock a “cautious” rating in a research report on Friday, August 28th. Finally, Barclays raised their price target on shares of GAP from $20.00 to $23.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, August 28th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating, twelve have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, GAP currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $27.07.

GAP Stock Down 3.9%

The company has a current ratio of 1.82, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38. The company has a market capitalization of $7.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.93 and a beta of 2.12. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $22.32 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $23.04.

GAP (NYSE:GAP) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, August 27th. The company reported $0.52 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.48 by $0.04. GAP had a return on equity of 19.72% and a net margin of 8.14%. The business had revenue of $3.65 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.69 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.57 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 2.0% compared to the same quarter last year. GAP has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.350-2.450 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that The Gap, Inc. will post 2.40 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

GAP Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, October 28th. Investors of record on Wednesday, October 7th were paid a $0.1750 dividend. This represents a $0.70 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.3%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, October 7th. GAP’s dividend payout ratio is presently 20.90%.

Insider Activity at GAP

In other news, Director William Fisher sold 500,000 shares of GAP stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $23.89, for a total value of $11,945,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 15,903,198 shares in the company, valued at $379,927,400.22. The trade was a 3.05% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Julie Gruber sold 27,538 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $23.56, for a total value of $648,795.28. Following the transaction, the insider owned 30,876 shares in the company, valued at $727,438.56. This trade represents a 47.14% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last three months, insiders sold 1,027,538 shares of company stock worth $24,249,556. 31.00% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Joel Isaacson & Co. LLC acquired a new stake in shares of GAP during the third quarter worth $515,000. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund grew its stake in GAP by 14.3% during the third quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund now owns 511,056 shares of the company’s stock valued at $11,673,000 after acquiring an additional 63,903 shares in the last quarter. Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in GAP by 1.2% in the third quarter. Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC now owns 328,095 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,494,000 after acquiring an additional 3,796 shares in the last quarter. Lido Advisors LLC increased its position in GAP by 271.3% during the third quarter. Lido Advisors LLC now owns 47,179 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,078,000 after acquiring an additional 34,472 shares during the last quarter. Finally, New York Life Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in GAP by 19.0% during the third quarter. New York Life Investment Management LLC now owns 29,450 shares of the company’s stock valued at $673,000 after purchasing an additional 4,697 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 58.81% of the company’s stock.

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. The Old Navy Global segment offers clothing and accessories for adults and children.