Gen Digital (NASDAQ:GEN) Upgraded at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Gen Digital (NASDAQ:GEN) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a report published on Sunday.

A number of other brokerages also recently weighed in on GEN. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Gen Digital from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 18th. Wells Fargo & Company assumed coverage on shares of Gen Digital in a report on Tuesday, March 3rd. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $22.00 price objective for the company. Barclays lowered their target price on shares of Gen Digital from $33.00 to $32.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 6th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Gen Digital in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Gen Digital from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 11th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have issued a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $32.71.

Gen Digital Stock Up 2.8%

Shares of Gen Digital stock opened at $18.83 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.47, a current ratio of 0.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.50. Gen Digital has a 12 month low of $18.20 and a 12 month high of $32.22. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $22.41 and a 200 day simple moving average of $25.42. The stock has a market cap of $11.40 billion, a PE ratio of 19.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.61 and a beta of 1.11.

Gen Digital (NASDAQ:GEN) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 5th. The company reported $0.64 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.63 by $0.01. Gen Digital had a return on equity of 56.76% and a net margin of 12.76%.The business had revenue of $1.24 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.23 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.56 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 25.8% on a year-over-year basis. Gen Digital has set its Q4 2026 guidance at 0.640-0.660 EPS and its FY 2026 guidance at 2.540-2.560 EPS. Research analysts predict that Gen Digital will post 2.05 EPS for the current year.

Gen Digital Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 11th. Investors of record on Monday, February 16th were paid a $0.125 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 13th. This represents a $0.50 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.7%. Gen Digital’s dividend payout ratio is presently 51.55%.

Institutional Trading of Gen Digital

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. International Assets Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Gen Digital during the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. True Wealth Design LLC lifted its stake in Gen Digital by 92.0% in the 3rd quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 1,104 shares of the company’s stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 529 shares in the last quarter. Spire Wealth Management lifted its stake in Gen Digital by 1,183.3% in the 3rd quarter. Spire Wealth Management now owns 1,078 shares of the company’s stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 994 shares in the last quarter. Clearstead Advisors LLC boosted its position in Gen Digital by 48.6% during the 3rd quarter. Clearstead Advisors LLC now owns 1,223 shares of the company’s stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 400 shares during the last quarter. Finally, TD Private Client Wealth LLC boosted its position in Gen Digital by 65.8% during the 4th quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC now owns 1,539 shares of the company’s stock worth $42,000 after acquiring an additional 611 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.38% of the company’s stock.

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.