Gen Digital (NASDAQ:GEN) Upgraded to “Buy” at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Gen Digital (NASDAQ:GEN) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a report released on Saturday morning,Wall Street Zen reports.

Several other analysts have also issued reports on the company. Weiss Ratings upgraded Gen Digital from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on Gen Digital from $32.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 29th. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their target price on Gen Digital from $24.00 to $27.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 29th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Gen Digital from $22.00 to $28.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, August 7th. Finally, Barclays increased their price target on Gen Digital from $27.00 to $32.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 7th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has assigned a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Gen Digital presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $30.25.

Gen Digital Stock Down 2.6%

Gen Digital stock opened at $29.79 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $17.67 billion, a PE ratio of 14.97, a P/E/G ratio of 0.94 and a beta of 1.24. The company’s 50-day moving average is $26.57 and its 200-day moving average is $24.49. Gen Digital has a fifty-two week low of $17.78 and a fifty-two week high of $31.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.57, a current ratio of 0.37 and a quick ratio of 0.37.

Gen Digital (NASDAQ:GEN) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 28th. The company reported $0.74 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.72 by $0.02. Gen Digital had a net margin of 23.07% and a return on equity of 56.80%. The business had revenue of $1.37 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.34 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.62 EPS. Gen Digital’s revenue was up 12.2% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Gen Digital will post 2.65 earnings per share for the current year.

Gen Digital Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 9th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 16th will be issued a $0.1250 dividend. This represents a $0.50 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 16th. Gen Digital’s dividend payout ratio is currently 25.13%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, COO Bryan Seuk Ko sold 28,248 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $30.67, for a total value of $866,366.16. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer owned 744,262 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $22,826,515.54. The trade was a 3.66% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Travis Witteveen sold 30,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $29.42, for a total transaction of $882,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 496,545 shares in the company, valued at $14,608,353.90. This trade represents a 5.70% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 588,508 shares of company stock worth $17,248,593 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 9.70% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Gen Digital

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership grew its position in shares of Gen Digital by 45.8% during the 1st quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 13,094,386 shares of the company’s stock worth $246,567,000 after purchasing an additional 4,115,676 shares in the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc acquired a new stake in shares of Gen Digital in the second quarter valued at approximately $225,169,000. Deutsche Bank AG acquired a new stake in shares of Gen Digital in the second quarter valued at approximately $146,639,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp acquired a new stake in shares of Gen Digital in the second quarter valued at approximately $108,421,000. Finally, Sei Investments Co. boosted its stake in shares of Gen Digital by 28.6% in the first quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 2,559,493 shares of the company’s stock valued at $48,195,000 after buying an additional 569,581 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.38% of the company’s stock.

About Gen Digital

Gen Digital Inc is a global cybersecurity company that provides digital safety and identity protection services to consumers and small businesses. Its products include antivirus and malware protection, virtual private networks, password managers, scam protection, and identity monitoring and recovery services.

The company offers services through brands including Norton, Avast, LifeLock, Avira, AVG, and CCleaner. Its products are available in markets around the world through direct subscriptions and other distribution channels.

Gen Digital was formed in 2022 when NortonLifeLock completed its acquisition of Avast and adopted the Gen name.