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

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

GAP Trading Down 3.4 %

NYSE:GPS opened at $19.82 on Thursday. GAP has a one year low of $7.22 and a one year high of $28.59. 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 company’s 50-day simple moving average is $22.68 and its 200 day simple moving average is $19.85. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.79, a PEG ratio of 1.26 and a beta of 2.34.

GAP (NYSE:GPS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 7th. The apparel retailer reported $0.49 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.20 by $0.29. GAP had a net margin of 3.37% and a return on equity of 22.56%. The business had revenue of $4.30 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.22 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted ($0.75) earnings per share. GAP’s quarterly revenue was up 1.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts forecast that GAP will post 1.36 EPS for the current fiscal year.

GAP Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 1st. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 10th were paid a dividend of $0.15 per share. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.03%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, April 9th. GAP’s payout ratio is currently 44.78%.

Insider Transactions at GAP

In related news, insider Julie Gruber sold 24,180 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 owns 1,384 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $31,832. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, insider Julie Gruber sold 24,180 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 owns 1,384 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $31,832. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO Katrina O’connell sold 9,818 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $27.94, for a total transaction of $274,314.92. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 266,723 shares of company stock valued at $6,886,765 in the last quarter. Insiders own 30.81% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On GAP

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Hennessy Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in GAP by 14.1% in the first quarter. Hennessy Advisors Inc. now owns 2,305,600 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $63,519,000 after buying an additional 285,000 shares during the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets raised its holdings in GAP by 33.0% in the fourth quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 367,130 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $7,677,000 after buying an additional 91,151 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its holdings in GAP by 2.9% in the third quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 2,906,701 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $30,898,000 after buying an additional 80,792 shares during the last quarter. Polianta Ltd purchased a new position in GAP in the fourth quarter worth about $968,000. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC raised its holdings in GAP by 266.4% in the fourth quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 48,820 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $1,021,000 after buying an additional 35,495 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 58.81% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of GAP from an “underweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and increased their price target for the company from $16.00 to $20.00 in a research report on Monday, February 26th. Robert W. Baird increased their price target on shares of GAP to $23.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, March 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of GAP from $24.00 to $25.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, March 22nd. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on shares of GAP from $24.00 to $25.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 25th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on shares of GAP from $14.00 to $18.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, March 22nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average 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.