Gen Digital Inc. (NASDAQ:GEN) Receives $35.43 Average PT from Analysts

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

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on Gen Digital from $25.00 to $32.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 2nd. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on shares of Gen Digital in a report on Friday, October 3rd. They issued a “hold” rating and a $31.00 price target for the company. Evercore ISI raised their price objective on shares of Gen Digital from $35.00 to $37.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, November 7th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Gen Digital from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Sunday, October 12th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Gen Digital in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th.

Insider Buying and Selling at Gen Digital

In other news, Director Ondrej Vlcek sold 113,674 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 sale, the director directly owned 3,932,980 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $106,662,417.60. This represents a 2.81% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director John C. Chrystal purchased 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 13th. The stock was bought at an average price of $27.14 per share, with a total value of $135,700.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 28,419 shares in the company, valued at $771,291.66. This trade represents a 21.35% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. Company insiders own 9.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Gen Digital

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

Gen Digital Trading Down 0.7%

Gen Digital stock opened at $27.58 on Tuesday. Gen Digital has a 12-month low of $22.74 and a 12-month high of $32.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.43, a current ratio of 0.51 and a quick ratio of 0.51. The stock has a market capitalization of $17.01 billion, a PE ratio of 29.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 1.11. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $26.83 and a 200-day simple moving average of $28.52.

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

Gen Digital Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 10th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 17th were issued 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 1.8%. Gen Digital’s dividend payout ratio is currently 54.35%.

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.