Gen Digital Inc. (NASDAQ:GEN) Receives Average Recommendation of "Hold" from Analysts

Key Points

• Gen Digital has an average analyst rating of "Hold" from 10 covering firms, with seven holds, two buys, and one strong buy. The average 1-year price target is about $31.29.
• Recent analyst actions were mixed, including rating downgrades from Jefferies and Wall Street Zen, while Argus upgraded the stock to strong buy and Barclays slightly raised its price target to $27.
• The company reported better-than-expected quarterly results, with EPS of $0.67 versus $0.65 expected and revenue of $1.28 billion versus $1.25 billion expected, while also maintaining a quarterly dividend of $0.125 per share.

Gen Digital Inc. (NASDAQ:GEN - Get Free Report) has earned an average recommendation of "Hold" from the ten research firms that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, two have issued a buy recommendation and one has assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year price objective among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $31.2857.

A number of analysts recently commented on GEN shares. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Gen Digital in a report on Thursday, June 18th. Jefferies Financial Group cut shares of Gen Digital from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, April 27th. Argus raised Gen Digital to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Friday, May 22nd. Barclays upped their price target on Gen Digital from $26.00 to $27.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, May 8th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered Gen Digital from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, June 20th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Gen Digital

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. International Assets Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Gen Digital during the 4th quarter worth about $27,000. Grove Bank & Trust increased its position in Gen Digital by 452.2% in the 2nd quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 1,132 shares of the company's stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 927 shares during the period. TD Private Client Wealth LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Gen Digital by 65.8% during the fourth quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC now owns 1,539 shares of the company's stock worth $42,000 after buying an additional 611 shares during the last quarter. MUFG Securities EMEA plc acquired a new position in shares of Gen Digital during the second quarter worth approximately $47,000. Finally, Geneos Wealth Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Gen Digital by 221.5% in the first quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 1,717 shares of the company's stock valued at $46,000 after acquiring an additional 1,183 shares during the period. 81.38% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Gen Digital Stock Performance

NASDAQ GEN traded down $0.08 on Friday, hitting $25.91. The stock had a trading volume of 2,796,719 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,160,020. The company's 50-day moving average is $24.43 and its two-hundred day moving average is $23.31. Gen Digital has a one year low of $17.78 and a one year high of $32.22. The stock has a market cap of $15.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.40 and a beta of 1.21. The company has a quick ratio of 0.40, a current ratio of 0.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.07.

Gen Digital (NASDAQ:GEN - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The company reported $0.67 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.65 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $1.28 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.25 billion. Gen Digital had a return on equity of 55.47% and a net margin of 19.46%.The company's revenue for the quarter was up 27.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.59 earnings per share. 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. On average, analysts expect that Gen Digital will post 2.59 earnings per share for the current year.

Gen Digital Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 10th. Investors of record on Monday, May 18th were paid a $0.125 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 18th. This represents a $0.50 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.9%. Gen Digital's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 31.65%.

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.

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