GAP (NYSE:GPS) Issues Earnings Results

GAP (NYSE:GPS – Get Rating) posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday. The apparel retailer reported $0.01 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.16) by $0.17, Briefing.com reports. GAP had a negative return on equity of 6.07% and a negative net margin of 1.29%. The company had revenue of $3.28 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.28 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned ($0.44) EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 5.8% on a year-over-year basis.

GAP Trading Down 2.5 %

Shares of GPS stock traded down $0.19 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $7.42. 18,580,342 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 8,433,996. GAP has a fifty-two week low of $7.22 and a fifty-two week high of $15.49. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $9.04 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $11.59. The company has a quick ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 1.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82. The stock has a market cap of $2.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -13.49, a PEG ratio of 1.09 and a beta of 1.91.

GAP Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 26th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, July 5th will be issued a dividend of $0.15 per share. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 8.09%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, July 3rd. GAP’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -109.09%.

Insider Transactions at GAP

In other news, CEO Mark Breitbard sold 22,918 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $8.78, for a total transaction of $201,220.04. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 123,985 shares in the company, valued at $1,088,588.30. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders have sold 31,209 shares of company stock worth $282,671 over the last quarter. 30.81% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Captrust Financial Advisors boosted its holdings in GAP by 12.2% in the second quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 8,561 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $71,000 after acquiring an additional 930 shares during the last quarter. Covestor Ltd lifted its stake in shares of GAP by 208.4% during the first quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 6,923 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $97,000 after purchasing an additional 4,678 shares in the last quarter. US Bancorp DE increased its position in shares of GAP by 34.9% during the first quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 12,100 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $170,000 after acquiring an additional 3,132 shares during the last quarter. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky purchased a new stake in shares of GAP during the third quarter worth about $290,000. Finally, Weiss Multi Strategy Advisers LLC purchased a new stake in shares of GAP during the first quarter worth about $915,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.72% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

GPS has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price objective on GAP from $11.00 to $9.00 in a research report on Tuesday, May 9th. Citigroup raised GAP from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their price target for the company from $10.00 to $8.00 in a report on Friday, May 19th. Barclays reduced their price target on GAP from $11.00 to $10.00 in a report on Tuesday, May 2nd. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price target on GAP from $18.00 to $16.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, March 10th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on GAP from $9.00 to $10.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Friday, March 10th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, GAP currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $11.00.

About GAP

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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.