Investors Buy High Volume of GAP Put Options (NYSE:GAP)

The Gap, Inc. (NYSE:GAP) saw some unusual options trading on Wednesday. Investors bought 27,840 put options on the company. This represents an increase of 70% compared to the typical volume of 16,398 put options.

GAP Stock Up 5.5 %

Shares of GAP stock opened at $22.38 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a current ratio of 1.54. GAP has a 52-week low of $18.54 and a 52-week high of $26.41. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $22.16 and its 200-day moving average price is $22.52. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.36, a P/E/G ratio of 0.94 and a beta of 2.14.

GAP (NYSE:GAP) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 6th. The company reported $0.54 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.36 by $0.18. The business had revenue of $4.15 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.07 billion. GAP had a net margin of 5.40% and a return on equity of 29.03%. Equities research analysts forecast that GAP will post 2.02 EPS for the current year.

GAP Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 30th. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 9th will be issued a dividend of $0.165 per share. This represents a $0.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.95%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 9th. This is an increase from GAP’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.15. GAP’s dividend payout ratio is currently 29.86%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Elisabeth B. Donohue sold 3,539 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $21.04, for a total value of $74,460.56. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 4,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $84,160. This represents a 46.94 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Horacio Barbeito sold 40,764 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $20.07, for a total transaction of $818,133.48. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 308 shares in the company, valued at $6,181.56. This trade represents a 99.25 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 177,495 shares of company stock worth $3,598,459. Insiders own 31.00% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On GAP

An institutional investor recently bought a new position in GAP stock. California State Teachers Retirement System acquired a new position in The Gap, Inc. (NYSE:GAP) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 209,599 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,953,000. California State Teachers Retirement System owned 0.06% of GAP at the end of the most recent reporting period. 58.81% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on GAP shares. Barclays upped their target price on GAP from $32.00 to $33.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, March 7th. UBS Group cut their price target on GAP from $26.00 to $25.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, March 10th. Robert W. Baird cut their price objective on shares of GAP from $31.00 to $29.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Argus raised shares of GAP from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $27.00 price target on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on GAP from $29.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $29.25.

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.