GAP Sees Unusually High Options Volume (NYSE:GAP)

The Gap, Inc. (NYSE:GAP) was the recipient of unusually large options trading activity on Wednesday. Stock traders acquired 27,840 put options on the company. This is an increase of 70% compared to the average volume of 16,398 put options.

GAP Stock Performance

Shares of GAP opened at $22.38 on Thursday. GAP has a one year low of $18.54 and a one year high of $26.41. The business has a fifty day moving average of $22.16 and a 200 day moving average of $22.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a current ratio of 1.54 and a quick ratio of 0.84. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.36, a PEG ratio of 0.94 and a beta of 2.14.

GAP (NYSE:GAP) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 6th. The company reported $0.54 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.36 by $0.18. The firm had revenue of $4.15 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.07 billion. GAP had a net margin of 5.40% and a return on equity of 29.03%. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that GAP will post 2.02 EPS for the current year.

GAP Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 30th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 9th will be paid a dividend of $0.165 per share. This represents a $0.66 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.95%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 9th. This is a boost from GAP’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.15. GAP’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 29.86%.

Insider Transactions at GAP

In other GAP news, CEO Horacio Barbeito sold 40,764 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $20.07, for a total value of $818,133.48. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 308 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,181.56. This represents a 99.25 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO Katrina O’connell sold 80,029 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $20.35, for a total transaction of $1,628,590.15. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 8,290 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $168,701.50. This represents a 90.61 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 177,495 shares of company stock valued at $3,598,459 in the last three months. 31.00% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On GAP

A hedge fund recently bought a new stake in GAP stock. California State Teachers Retirement System purchased a new stake in shares of The Gap, Inc. (NYSE:GAP) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 209,599 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,953,000. California State Teachers Retirement System owned 0.06% of GAP as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. Institutional investors own 58.81% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

GAP has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on GAP from $29.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Robert W. Baird cut their price objective on shares of GAP from $31.00 to $29.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, March 7th. UBS Group decreased their target price on shares of GAP from $26.00 to $25.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, March 10th. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated a “market perform” rating and set a $26.00 price target on shares of GAP in a report on Friday, March 7th. Finally, Argus upgraded shares of GAP from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $27.00 price objective for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $29.25.

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.