Gen Digital (NASDAQ:GEN) Hits New 52-Week High – Still a Buy?

Gen Digital Inc. (NASDAQ:GEN)’s share price hit a new 52-week high during trading on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $31.65 and last traded at $31.2170, with a volume of 405548 shares. The stock had previously closed at $30.65.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Gen Digital from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, August 16th. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their target price on shares of Gen Digital from $27.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday, August 7th. Barclays increased their target price on shares of Gen Digital from $27.00 to $32.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 7th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price 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. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Gen Digital from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 15th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has given a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $31.60.

Gen Digital Price Performance

The stock has a 50 day moving average of $27.78 and a two-hundred day moving average of $24.03. 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 has a market cap of $18.35 billion, a PE ratio of 17.82, a PEG ratio of 0.99 and a beta of 1.22.

Gen Digital (NASDAQ:GEN) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The company reported $0.71 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.69 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $1.34 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.31 billion. Gen Digital had a net margin of 20.73% and a return on equity of 55.93%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.64 earnings per share. 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 Inc. will post 2.64 EPS for the current year.

Gen Digital Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 9th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 17th will be paid a dividend of $0.125 per share. This represents a $0.50 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 17th. Gen Digital’s payout ratio is 29.07%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Gen Digital

In other news, insider Travis Witteveen sold 30,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, August 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $29.42, for a total value of $882,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 496,545 shares in the company, valued at $14,608,353.90. This represents a 5.70% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Ondrej Vlcek sold 200,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $30.00, for a total value of $6,000,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 3,332,904 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $99,987,120. This trade represents a 5.66% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 630,260 shares of company stock worth $17,967,726. Company insiders own 9.70% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Gen Digital

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of GEN. Larson Financial Group LLC grew its position in Gen Digital by 20.9% during the third quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 2,255 shares of the company’s stock valued at $64,000 after purchasing an additional 390 shares in the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in Gen Digital by 14.5% in the 1st quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 3,376 shares of the company’s stock worth $64,000 after buying an additional 427 shares in the last quarter. Vident Advisory LLC lifted its position in Gen Digital by 1.6% in the 3rd quarter. Vident Advisory LLC now owns 26,906 shares of the company’s stock worth $764,000 after buying an additional 428 shares in the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Gen Digital by 5.9% during the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 7,735 shares of the company’s stock valued at $210,000 after buying an additional 430 shares during the period. Finally, Huntington National Bank boosted its stake in shares of Gen Digital by 9.4% during the 4th quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 5,216 shares of the company’s stock valued at $142,000 after buying an additional 448 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.