The Gap, Inc. (NYSE:GAP) Plans Dividend Increase – $0.17 Per Share

The Gap, Inc. (NYSE:GAP) announced a quarterly dividend on Tuesday, February 25th, RTT News reports. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 9th will be paid a dividend of 0.165 per share on Wednesday, April 30th. This represents a $0.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.84%. This is a boost from GAP’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.15.

GAP has a dividend payout ratio of 25.1% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Research analysts expect GAP to earn $2.14 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 28.0%.

GAP Stock Performance

Shares of GAP stock traded up $0.76 on Wednesday, hitting $23.23. 948,551 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,531,515. GAP has a 1 year low of $18.72 and a 1 year high of $30.75. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $23.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a current ratio of 1.54 and a quick ratio of 0.84. The company has a market capitalization of $8.76 billion, a PE ratio of 10.81, a PEG ratio of 0.94 and a beta of 2.36.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently weighed in on GAP. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on GAP from $23.00 to $25.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. Guggenheim reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $35.00 price objective on shares of GAP in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. Bank of America boosted their price objective on GAP from $25.00 to $28.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. Argus upgraded shares of GAP from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $27.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of GAP from $28.00 to $30.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, November 22nd. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $29.27.

Insider Transactions at GAP

In related news, CFO Katrina O’connell sold 87,557 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $25.45, for a total transaction of $2,228,325.65. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director William Sydney Fisher sold 123,950 shares of GAP stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $26.24, for a total value of $3,252,448.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 3,696,517 shares in the company, valued at approximately $96,996,606.08. The trade was a 3.24 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 955,375 shares of company stock valued at $24,316,219. 31.00% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

GAP Company Profile

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.