GAP (NYSE:GPS) Lifted to “Buy” at TD Cowen

GAP (NYSE:GPS) was upgraded by equities research analysts at TD Cowen from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report released on Tuesday, Marketbeat Ratings reports. The brokerage currently has a $30.00 price target on the apparel retailer’s stock, up from their prior price target of $28.00. TD Cowen’s target price suggests a potential upside of 20.97% from the stock’s previous close.

GPS has been the topic of several other research reports. KGI Securities increased their price target on shares of GAP from $9.10 to $25.20 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, March 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on GAP from $20.00 to $27.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, May 31st. TheStreet raised GAP from a “c” rating to a “b-” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 7th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on GAP from $17.00 to $28.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, May 31st. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of GAP from $20.00 to $27.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, May 31st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, GAP has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $25.98.

GAP Price Performance

Shares of NYSE GPS opened at $24.80 on Tuesday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $22.97 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $22.04. GAP has a fifty-two week low of $8.51 and a fifty-two week high of $30.75. The firm has a market cap of $9.30 billion, a PE ratio of 13.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.21 and a beta of 2.35. The company has a quick ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 1.50 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55.

GAP (NYSE:GPS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 30th. The apparel retailer reported $0.41 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.14 by $0.27. The business had revenue of $3.39 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.29 billion. GAP had a net margin of 4.52% and a return on equity of 27.57%. The business’s revenue was up 3.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.01 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that GAP will post 1.74 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at GAP

In other news, CFO Katrina O’connell sold 20,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $29.01, for a total value of $580,200.00. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 31.00% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of GAP

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. BNP Paribas Financial Markets grew its stake in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 91,151 shares during the last quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC grew its position in GAP by 11.3% during the fourth quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 41,265 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $863,000 after buying an additional 4,200 shares in the last quarter. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky increased its stake in GAP by 90.6% during the third quarter. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky now owns 74,080 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $787,000 after acquiring an additional 35,223 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC acquired a new position in GAP in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $42,000. Finally, New York State Teachers Retirement System lifted its position in shares of GAP by 1.2% in the 4th quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System now owns 263,675 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $5,513,000 after acquiring an additional 3,109 shares during the period. 58.81% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.