Gen Digital Inc. (NASDAQ:GEN) Given Consensus Recommendation of "Buy" by Brokerages

Shares of Gen Digital Inc. (NASDAQ:GEN - Get Free Report) have been given a consensus recommendation of "Buy" by the five research firms that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, one has issued a buy recommendation and two have issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average 12-month price target among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $30.00.

Several research firms have recently weighed in on GEN. Wall Street Zen raised Gen Digital from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Friday. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on Gen Digital from $27.00 to $25.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price objective on Gen Digital from $28.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. Finally, Evercore ISI began coverage on shares of Gen Digital in a research note on Tuesday. They set an "outperform" rating and a $35.00 price objective for the company.

Gen Digital Stock Performance

GEN traded up $0.40 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $29.80. 2,931,640 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,752,778. Gen Digital has a 12 month low of $22.74 and a 12 month high of $31.72. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $28.10 and a 200-day simple moving average of $27.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.51, a current ratio of 0.51 and a quick ratio of 0.51. The stock has a market cap of $18.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.09 and a beta of 1.01.

Gen Digital (NASDAQ:GEN - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 6th. The company reported $0.59 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.58 by $0.01. Gen Digital had a net margin of 16.34% and a return on equity of 59.38%. The company had revenue of $1.01 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $999.48 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.53 EPS. Gen Digital's revenue was up 4.4% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts anticipate that Gen Digital will post 2.05 earnings per share for the current year.

Gen Digital Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 11th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 19th were paid a $0.125 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 19th. This represents a $0.50 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.68%. Gen Digital's dividend payout ratio is presently 48.08%.

Insider Transactions at Gen Digital

In other Gen Digital news, Director Nora Denzel sold 31,646 shares of Gen Digital stock in a transaction on Friday, May 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $28.76, for a total transaction of $910,138.96. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 34,860 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,002,573.60. This trade represents a 47.58% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 12.20% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Gen Digital

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of GEN. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH acquired a new position in Gen Digital in the 4th quarter worth about $14,367,000. QSM Asset Management Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Gen Digital in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $5,373,000. Brighton Jones LLC increased its holdings in Gen Digital by 5.4% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 25,212 shares of the company's stock worth $690,000 after buying an additional 1,299 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its position in Gen Digital by 98.8% during the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 114,699 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,140,000 after acquiring an additional 56,993 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Kera Capital Partners Inc. lifted its stake in Gen Digital by 41.7% in the first quarter. Kera Capital Partners Inc. now owns 11,777 shares of the company's stock valued at $313,000 after acquiring an additional 3,466 shares during the last quarter. 81.38% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Gen Digital

Gen Digital Inc engages in the provision of cyber safety solutions for consumers in the United States, Canada, Latin America, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, the Asia Pacific, and Japan. The company offers security and performance products under Norton, Avast, Avira, AVG, and CCleaner brands that provide real-time protection and maintenance for PCs, Macs, and mobile devices against malware, viruses, adware, and other online threats.