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

Gen Digital Inc. (NASDAQ:GEN) has been given an average rating of “Hold” by the ten analysts that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, two have given a buy recommendation and one has issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average 1 year price objective among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $31.2857.

Several analysts have weighed in on GEN shares. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Gen Digital from $26.00 to $27.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” 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, June 18th. Argus upgraded Gen Digital to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report 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. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price objective on Gen Digital from $22.00 to $24.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Friday, May 8th.

Gen Digital Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:GEN traded down $0.08 during trading on Friday, hitting $25.91. 2,796,719 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,160,020. 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 $15.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.40 and a beta of 1.21. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $24.43 and its 200-day simple moving average is $23.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.07, a quick ratio of 0.40 and a current ratio of 0.40.

Gen Digital (NASDAQ:GEN) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The company reported $0.67 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.65 by $0.02. Gen Digital had a net margin of 19.46% and a return on equity of 55.47%. The business had revenue of $1.28 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.25 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.59 EPS. The firm’s 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. Sell-side analysts expect that Gen Digital will post 2.59 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Gen Digital Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Gen Digital

In other news, Director John C. Chrystal acquired 3,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 4th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $27.06 per share, with a total value of $81,180.00. Following the acquisition, the director 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 acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Ondrej Vlcek sold 100,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of the transaction, the director owned 3,832,724 shares in the company, valued at $94,974,900.72. This represents a 2.54% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Corporate insiders own 9.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Gen Digital

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of GEN. International Assets Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Gen Digital during the fourth quarter worth $27,000. Grove Bank & Trust increased its position in shares of Gen Digital by 452.2% in the 2nd quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 1,132 shares of the company’s stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 927 shares in the last quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC increased its position in shares of Gen Digital by 65.8% in the 4th quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC now owns 1,539 shares of the company’s stock valued at $42,000 after buying an additional 611 shares in the last quarter. MUFG Securities EMEA plc bought a new stake in shares of Gen Digital in the 2nd quarter valued at $47,000. Finally, Geneos Wealth Management Inc. raised its stake in Gen Digital by 221.5% during the 1st quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 1,717 shares of the company’s stock worth $46,000 after buying an additional 1,183 shares during the period. 81.38% of the stock is currently 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.