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

Gen Digital Inc. (NASDAQ:GEN) has been assigned an average recommendation of “Hold” from the ten brokerages that are covering the company, Marketbeat reports. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. The average 12-month price target among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $31.2857.

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on GEN shares. Wells Fargo & Company started coverage on Gen Digital in a report on Tuesday, March 3rd. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $22.00 target price for the company. Barclays lifted their target price on Gen Digital from $26.00 to $27.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, May 8th. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their target price on Gen Digital from $22.00 to $24.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday, May 8th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Gen Digital in a report on Thursday. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group downgraded Gen Digital from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, April 27th.

Gen Digital Trading Down 4.8%

Shares of Gen Digital stock opened at $23.01 on Tuesday. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $22.74 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $23.48. Gen Digital has a 1 year low of $17.78 and a 1 year high of $32.22. The company has a market capitalization of $13.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.56 and a beta of 1.20. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.07, a current ratio of 0.40 and a quick ratio of 0.40.

Gen Digital (NASDAQ:GEN) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The company reported $0.67 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.65 by $0.02. Gen Digital had a return on equity of 55.47% and a net margin of 19.46%.The business had revenue of $1.28 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.25 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.59 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 27.0% on a year-over-year basis. 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. Research analysts forecast that Gen Digital will post 2.59 EPS for the current year.

Gen Digital Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 10th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 18th were issued a dividend of $0.125 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 18th. This represents a $0.50 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.2%. Gen Digital’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 31.65%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Ondrej Vlcek sold 100,000 shares of Gen Digital stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $24.78, for a total transaction of $2,478,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 3,832,724 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $94,974,900.72. This trade represents a 2.54% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director John C. Chrystal purchased 3,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 4th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $27.06 per share, with a total value of $81,180.00. Following the purchase, the director owned 31,419 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $850,198.14. This represents a 10.56% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. 9.30% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Gen Digital

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in GEN. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership boosted its holdings in Gen Digital by 45.8% in the first quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 13,094,386 shares of the company’s stock valued at $246,567,000 after acquiring an additional 4,115,676 shares during the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP boosted its holdings in Gen Digital by 22.3% in the fourth quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 19,941,546 shares of the company’s stock valued at $542,211,000 after acquiring an additional 3,640,451 shares during the last quarter. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. bought a new stake in Gen Digital in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $70,248,000. Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Gen Digital by 167.2% in the fourth quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 3,328,737 shares of the company’s stock valued at $90,508,000 after acquiring an additional 2,082,850 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Boston Partners boosted its holdings in shares of Gen Digital by 14.3% during the 4th quarter. Boston Partners now owns 15,644,289 shares of the company’s stock worth $425,336,000 after buying an additional 1,954,712 shares in the last quarter. 81.38% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.