Gen Digital Inc. (NASDAQ:GEN) Given Average Rating of “Hold” by Analysts

Shares of Gen Digital Inc. (NASDAQ:GEN) have earned a consensus rating of “Hold” from the nine analysts that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat reports. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, one has issued a buy recommendation and one has given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month target price among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $29.3333.

A number of brokerages have commented on GEN. Argus upgraded shares of Gen Digital to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 22nd. Wall Street Zen cut Gen Digital from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, June 20th. Jefferies Financial Group downgraded Gen Digital from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, April 27th. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and issued a $27.00 price target on shares of Gen Digital in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Barclays upped their price target on Gen Digital from $26.00 to $27.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, May 8th.

Gen Digital Trading Down 1.0%

Shares of Gen Digital stock opened at $26.74 on Friday. Gen Digital has a 52-week low of $17.78 and a 52-week high of $32.22. The firm has a market capitalization of $16.11 billion, a PE ratio of 16.92 and a beta of 1.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.07, a current ratio of 0.40 and a quick ratio of 0.40. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $25.06 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $23.27.

Gen Digital (NASDAQ:GEN) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 7th. The company reported $0.67 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.65 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $1.28 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.25 billion. Gen Digital had a net margin of 19.46% and a return on equity of 55.47%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 27.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.59 EPS. Gen Digital has set its Q1 2027 guidance at 0.680-0.700 EPS and its FY 2027 guidance at 2.850-2.950 EPS. On average, analysts expect that Gen Digital will post 2.59 EPS for the current year.

Gen Digital Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 10th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 18th were paid a $0.125 dividend. This represents a $0.50 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.9%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 18th. Gen Digital’s payout ratio is currently 31.65%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director John C. Chrystal bought 3,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 4th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $27.06 per share, for a total transaction of $81,180.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 31,419 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $850,198.14. This trade represents a 10.56% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Ondrej Vlcek sold 100,000 shares of Gen Digital stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $24.78, for a total transaction of $2,478,000.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 3,832,724 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $94,974,900.72. This represents a 2.54% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 9.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Blue Trust Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Gen Digital by 2.4% during the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 16,210 shares of the company’s stock worth $441,000 after buying an additional 387 shares in the last quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC boosted its stake in Gen Digital by 20.9% in the third quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 2,255 shares of the company’s stock valued at $64,000 after buying an additional 390 shares in the last quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB boosted its stake in Gen Digital by 22.9% in the fourth quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 2,223 shares of the company’s stock valued at $60,000 after buying an additional 414 shares in the last quarter. Tealwood Asset Management Inc. grew its position in Gen Digital by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Tealwood Asset Management Inc. now owns 81,715 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,222,000 after acquiring an additional 426 shares during the last quarter. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in Gen Digital by 14.5% in the first quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 3,376 shares of the company’s stock valued at $64,000 after acquiring an additional 427 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.