The Gap, Inc. (NYSE:GPS – Get Rating) declared a quarterly dividend on Tuesday, November 8th, RTT News reports. Investors of record on Wednesday, January 4th will be given a dividend of 0.15 per share by the apparel retailer on Wednesday, January 25th. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.24%.
GAP has decreased its dividend by an average of 50.2% per year over the last three years and has raised its dividend annually for the last 1 consecutive years. GAP has a payout ratio of 83.3% indicating that its dividend is currently covered by earnings, but may not be in the future if the company’s earnings decline. Analysts expect GAP to earn $0.69 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $0.60 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 87.0%.
GAP Stock Up 2.7 %
NYSE:GPS traded up $0.30 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $11.46. The stock had a trading volume of 6,649,776 shares, compared to its average volume of 9,538,110. The company has a market capitalization of $4.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -11.43 and a beta of 1.80. GAP has a 1-year low of $7.79 and a 1-year high of $25.65. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $9.71 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $10.06. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 1.37 and a quick ratio of 0.50.
GAP (NYSE:GPS – Get Rating) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 25th. The apparel retailer reported $0.08 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.04) by $0.12. The business had revenue of $3.86 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.82 billion. GAP had a negative return on equity of 1.48% and a negative net margin of 2.40%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 8.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.70 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that GAP will post -0.28 EPS for the current year.
Insider Buying and Selling
In related news, CEO Mary Beth Laughton sold 6,387 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $10.07, for a total transaction of $64,317.09. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 31,561 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $317,819.27. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 44.19% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.
Institutional Inflows and Outflows
Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Captrust Financial Advisors increased its holdings in shares of 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 buying an additional 930 shares in the last quarter. US Bancorp DE increased its holdings in shares of GAP by 34.9% in the first quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 12,100 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $170,000 after buying an additional 3,132 shares in the last quarter. Covestor Ltd increased its holdings in shares of GAP by 208.4% in the first quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 6,923 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $97,000 after buying an additional 4,678 shares in the last quarter. Weiss Multi Strategy Advisers LLC bought a new position in shares of GAP in the first quarter valued at $915,000. Finally, Rhumbline Advisers increased its holdings in shares of GAP by 54.9% in the first quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 535,779 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $7,544,000 after buying an additional 189,872 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 57.46% of the company’s stock.
Wall Street Analyst Weigh In
A number of equities analysts recently commented on GPS shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on GAP from $8.00 to $9.00 in a research note on Friday, September 16th. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on GAP from $7.50 to $8.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 26th. Cowen decreased their target price on GAP from $12.00 to $10.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, August 31st. Barclays upgraded GAP from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $6.00 to $9.00 in a research note on Tuesday, August 30th. Finally, Credit Suisse Group decreased their target price on GAP from $10.00 to $8.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, July 12th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $10.57.
GAP Company Profile
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 denim, tees, fleece, and khakis; eyewear, jewelry, shoes, handbags, and fragrances; and fitness and lifestyle products for use in yoga, training, sports, travel, and everyday activities for women and girls.