Traders Purchase Large Volume of Call Options on GAP (NYSE:GAP)

The Gap, Inc. (NYSE:GAP) was the target of unusually large options trading activity on Tuesday. Stock traders purchased 16,391 call options on the stock. This is an increase of 54% compared to the typical daily volume of 10,622 call options.

GAP Stock Performance

GAP stock opened at $21.00 on Wednesday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $21.27. The firm has a market cap of $7.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.23 and a beta of 2.35. GAP has a 52 week low of $17.51 and a 52 week high of $30.75. The company has a quick ratio of 0.84, a current ratio of 1.49 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51.

GAP (NYSE:GAP) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, August 29th. The company reported $0.54 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.39 by $0.15. The company had revenue of $3.72 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.61 billion. GAP had a return on equity of 28.89% and a net margin of 5.05%. Equities analysts forecast that GAP will post 1.88 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

GAP Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 29th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, January 8th will be paid a dividend of $0.15 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, January 8th. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.86%. GAP’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 29.70%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on GAP shares. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on GAP from $32.00 to $28.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. Argus raised shares of GAP to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 19th. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated a “market perform” rating and set a $26.00 price objective on shares of GAP in a research note on Monday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on GAP from $27.00 to $28.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, August 30th.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Horacio Barbeito sold 75,385 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $20.00, for a total value of $1,507,700.00. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 31.00% of the company’s stock.

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.