Brokerages Set Gen Digital Inc. (NASDAQ:GEN) Target Price at $29.33

Gen Digital Inc. (NASDAQ:GEN) has received a consensus recommendation of “Hold” from the nine brokerages that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, one has issued a buy recommendation and one has assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year price target among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $31.6667.

Several analysts have recently commented on the stock. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Gen Digital from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday. Argus raised Gen Digital to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 22nd. Jefferies Financial Group lowered Gen Digital from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, April 27th. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their target price on Gen Digital from $27.00 to $30.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Friday. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded Gen Digital from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 15th.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Ondrej Vlcek sold 100,000 shares of Gen Digital 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 transaction, the director owned 3,832,724 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $94,974,900.72. This trade represents a 2.54% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director John C. Chrystal purchased 3,000 shares of Gen Digital stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 4th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $27.06 per share, for a total transaction of $81,180.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 31,419 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $850,198.14. This represents a 10.56% increase in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. 9.70% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Gen Digital

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Aurora Investment Counsel acquired a new stake in shares of Gen Digital in the second quarter valued at about $1,645,000. Abacus FCF Advisors LLC bought a new position in Gen Digital in the second quarter valued at approximately $3,666,000. Danske Bank A S acquired a new position in shares of Gen Digital during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $14,903,000. Wealthfront Advisers LLC acquired a new position in shares of Gen Digital during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $965,000. Finally, Foster & Motley Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Gen Digital during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $1,204,000. 81.38% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Gen Digital Trading Up 0.4%

GEN stock opened at $29.29 on Thursday. Gen Digital has a 1-year low of $17.78 and a 1-year high of $32.22. The company has a current ratio of 0.47, a quick ratio of 0.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.00. The business’s 50 day moving average is $25.99 and its 200-day moving average is $23.34. The firm has a market cap of $17.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.03 and a beta of 1.21.

Gen Digital (NASDAQ:GEN) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The company reported $0.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 the consensus estimate of $1.31 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.64 EPS. The firm’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. Equities analysts anticipate that Gen Digital will post 2.61 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Gen Digital Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 9th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 17th will be paid a $0.125 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 17th. This represents a $0.50 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.7%. Gen Digital’s dividend payout ratio is 29.07%.

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.