Gen Digital Inc. (NASDAQ:GEN) Stock Has Consensus Target Price of $31.60 According to Brokerages

Key Points

• Analysts rate Gen Digital “Hold” overall: Six of eight brokerages issued hold ratings, while one issued a buy and one a strong buy. The average 12-month price target is $31.60.
• Recent financial results exceeded expectations: Gen Digital reported quarterly EPS of $0.71 versus the $0.69 consensus and revenue of $1.34 billion, up 6.3% year over year. The company also pays a $0.50 annualized dividend, yielding about 2.2%.
• Shares have declined 12% and insider selling was reported: The stock opened at $23.07, compared with a 52-week high of $31.65. Insiders sold 558,508 shares worth approximately $16.4 million in the latest quarter, while institutional investors own 81.38% of the stock.

Gen Digital Inc. (NASDAQ:GEN - Get Free Report) has earned a consensus recommendation of "Hold" from the eight ratings firms that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, one has assigned a buy recommendation and one has issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average twelve-month target price among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $31.60.

Several research analysts recently commented on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Gen Digital from $22.00 to $28.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, August 7th. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their target price on Gen Digital from $27.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Friday, August 7th. Barclays raised their price target on Gen Digital from $27.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, August 7th. Wall Street Zen cut Gen Digital from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Sunday, August 16th. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded Gen Digital from a "hold (c)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 15th.

Gen Digital Trading Down 12.0%

Shares of Gen Digital stock opened at $23.07 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $13.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.41, a P/E/G ratio of 0.86 and a beta of 1.22. Gen Digital has a 52-week low of $17.78 and a 52-week high of $31.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.00, a quick ratio of 0.47 and a current ratio of 0.47. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $28.62 and its 200 day simple moving average is $24.70.

Gen Digital (NASDAQ:GEN - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The company reported $0.71 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.69 by $0.02. Gen Digital had a net margin of 20.73% and a return on equity of 55.93%. The firm had revenue of $1.34 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.31 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.64 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 6.3% on a year-over-year basis. Gen Digital has set its FY 2027 guidance at 2.870-2.970 EPS and its Q2 2027 guidance at 0.710-0.730 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Gen Digital will post 2.64 EPS for the current year.

Gen Digital Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 9th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 17th were paid a $0.1250 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 17th. This represents a $0.50 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.2%. Gen Digital's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 29.07%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Gen Digital

In other news, Director Ondrej Vlcek sold 200,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $30.00, for a total value of $6,000,000.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 3,332,904 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $99,987,120. This represents a 5.66% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Travis Witteveen sold 30,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $29.42, for a total transaction of $882,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 496,545 shares of the company's stock, valued at $14,608,353.90. This trade represents a 5.70% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 558,508 shares of company stock valued at $16,356,093 in the last quarter. 9.70% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Gen Digital

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. National Pension Service lifted its stake in Gen Digital by 254.6% in the 2nd quarter. National Pension Service now owns 257,971 shares of the company's stock worth $6,421,000 after purchasing an additional 185,219 shares in the last quarter. Capital Analysts LLC grew its position in shares of Gen Digital by 38.7% during the 2nd quarter. Capital Analysts LLC now owns 7,337 shares of the company's stock valued at $183,000 after purchasing an additional 2,049 shares in the last quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC bought a new position in shares of Gen Digital in the second quarter worth $177,000. Baird Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Gen Digital by 6.1% in the second quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 91,109 shares of the company's stock worth $2,268,000 after purchasing an additional 5,203 shares during the period. Finally, Allworth Financial LP raised its position in shares of Gen Digital by 13.0% in the second quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 8,932 shares of the company's stock worth $222,000 after buying an additional 1,025 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 81.38% of the company's stock.

Gen Digital Company Profile

Gen Digital Inc NASDAQ: GEN is a global cybersecurity and consumer safety company that provides products designed to help individuals and families protect their devices, online identities, personal information and digital privacy. The company serves customers through a portfolio of consumer-focused cybersecurity and privacy brands.

Its products and services include antivirus and device security, identity theft protection, virtual private networks, password management, online privacy tools, scam protection and family safety features.

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