Gen Digital (NASDAQ:GEN) Downgraded by Wall Street Zen to “Hold”

Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Gen Digital (NASDAQ:GEN) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research note issued to investors on Saturday morning.

Other equities analysts have also issued reports about the stock. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Gen Digital in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. Evercore ISI upped their price objective on Gen Digital from $35.00 to $37.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, November 7th. Zacks Research cut Gen Digital from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 20th. Royal Bank Of Canada reduced their target price on Gen Digital from $33.00 to $29.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 7th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on Gen Digital in a report on Friday, October 3rd. They set a “hold” rating and a $31.00 price target for the company. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $35.43.

Gen Digital Price Performance

NASDAQ:GEN opened at $23.99 on Friday. Gen Digital has a one year low of $22.74 and a one year high of $32.22. The stock has a market cap of $14.80 billion, a PE ratio of 26.08, a P/E/G ratio of 0.80 and a beta of 1.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.43, a quick ratio of 0.51 and a current ratio of 0.51. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $26.57 and a 200 day moving average price of $27.90.

Gen Digital (NASDAQ:GEN) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, November 6th. The company reported $0.62 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.61 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $1.22 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.20 billion. Gen Digital had a return on equity of 57.09% and a net margin of 12.74%.The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 25.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.54 EPS. 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. Equities research analysts expect that Gen Digital will post 2.05 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Gen Digital Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 10th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 17th were paid a $0.125 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, November 17th. This represents a $0.50 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.1%. Gen Digital’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 54.35%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Gen Digital news, Director Ondrej Vlcek sold 113,674 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $27.12, for a total value of $3,082,838.88. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 3,932,980 shares in the company, valued at $106,662,417.60. The trade was a 2.81% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director John C. Chrystal acquired 5,000 shares of Gen Digital stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 13th. The stock was bought at an average price of $27.14 per share, for a total transaction of $135,700.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director owned 28,419 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $771,291.66. This represents a 21.35% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. Insiders own 9.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Gen Digital

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. True Wealth Design LLC increased its stake in shares of Gen Digital by 92.0% during the third quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 1,104 shares of the company’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 529 shares during the period. Spire Wealth Management grew its holdings in Gen Digital by 1,183.3% during the 3rd quarter. Spire Wealth Management now owns 1,078 shares of the company’s stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 994 shares in the last quarter. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Gen Digital in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Clearstead Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Gen Digital by 48.6% in the 3rd quarter. Clearstead Advisors LLC now owns 1,223 shares of the company’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 400 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CYBER HORNET ETFs LLC acquired a new position in shares of Gen Digital during the second quarter worth $44,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.38% of the company’s stock.

About Gen Digital

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.