Gen Digital Inc. (NASDAQ:GEN) Receives Consensus Rating of “Hold” from Brokerages

Shares of Gen Digital Inc. (NASDAQ:GEN) have been given an average recommendation of “Hold” by the eight research firms that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and three have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month target price among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $35.4286.

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on GEN. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Gen Digital in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Gen Digital from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Sunday, October 12th. Royal Bank Of Canada decreased their price target on Gen Digital from $33.00 to $29.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 7th. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on Gen Digital in a research note on Friday, October 3rd. They issued a “hold” rating and a $31.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on Gen Digital from $25.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 2nd.

Gen Digital Price Performance

Shares of GEN opened at $27.77 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.51, a quick ratio of 0.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.43. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $26.81 and its two-hundred day moving average is $28.54. Gen Digital has a twelve month low of $22.74 and a twelve month high of $32.22. The firm has a market capitalization of $17.13 billion, a PE ratio of 30.18, a P/E/G ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 1.11.

Gen Digital (NASDAQ:GEN) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 6th. The company reported $0.62 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.61 by $0.01. Gen Digital had a return on equity of 57.09% and a net margin of 12.74%.The business had revenue of $1.22 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.20 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.54 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 25.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Gen Digital has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.510-2.56 EPS and its Q3 2026 guidance at 0.620-0.64 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Gen Digital will post 2.05 earnings per share for the current year.

Gen Digital Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 10th. Investors of record on Monday, November 17th were paid a $0.125 dividend. This represents a $0.50 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, November 17th. Gen Digital’s dividend payout ratio is presently 54.35%.

Insider Transactions at Gen Digital

In related news, Director Ondrej Vlcek sold 113,674 shares of Gen Digital stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $27.12, for a total transaction of $3,082,838.88. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 3,932,980 shares in the company, valued at $106,662,417.60. The trade was a 2.81% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director John C. Chrystal bought 5,000 shares of Gen Digital stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 13th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $27.14 per share, for a total transaction of $135,700.00. Following the purchase, the director owned 28,419 shares in the company, valued at $771,291.66. This represents a 21.35% increase in their position. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders own 9.30% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Gen Digital

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Aviva PLC grew its stake in shares of Gen Digital by 6.6% during the second quarter. Aviva PLC now owns 407,156 shares of the company’s stock valued at $11,970,000 after acquiring an additional 25,315 shares in the last quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group raised its position in shares of Gen Digital by 48.1% during the 2nd quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 978,066 shares of the company’s stock valued at $28,755,000 after acquiring an additional 317,468 shares in the last quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd acquired a new position in Gen Digital in the second quarter worth $394,000. Mackenzie Financial Corp raised its holdings in shares of Gen Digital by 39.4% during the second quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 359,142 shares of the company’s stock worth $10,559,000 after purchasing an additional 101,580 shares during the period. Finally, First Hawaiian Bank lifted its position in shares of Gen Digital by 129.6% in the 1st quarter. First Hawaiian Bank now owns 75,278 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,998,000 after buying an additional 42,488 shares during the last quarter. 81.38% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Gen Digital Company Profile

Gen Digital (NASDAQ: GEN) is a global cybersecurity company specializing in consumer- and small-business-focused security, privacy, and identity protection solutions. The company offers a suite of products designed to safeguard devices, networks, and personal information against malware, ransomware, phishing attacks and other digital threats. With a focus on user-friendly interfaces and cross-platform compatibility, Gen Digital develops antivirus software, VPN services, parental controls, password management tools, and comprehensive identity-theft monitoring services.

Gen Digital traces its origins to the consumer software division of Symantec Corporation, which was spun off in late 2019 under the NortonLifeLock name.