Barclays Cuts Gen Digital (NASDAQ:GEN) Price Target to $26.00

Gen Digital (NASDAQ:GEN) had its price target lowered by Barclays from $32.00 to $26.00 in a research note released on Monday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an equal weight rating on the stock.

A number of other equities analysts also recently issued reports on GEN. Wells Fargo & Company began coverage on Gen Digital in a research report on Tuesday, March 3rd. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $22.00 price objective on the stock. Zacks Research raised Gen Digital from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 18th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Gen Digital from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Sunday, March 29th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Gen Digital from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 11th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Gen Digital in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have issued a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $31.86.

Gen Digital Stock Performance

GEN stock opened at $19.67 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.47, a current ratio of 0.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.50. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $21.19 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $24.68. Gen Digital has a twelve month low of $17.78 and a twelve month high of $32.22. The firm has a market cap of $11.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.28, a PEG ratio of 0.54 and a beta of 1.15.

Gen Digital (NASDAQ:GEN) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 5th. The company reported $0.64 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.23 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.56 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 25.8% compared to the same quarter last year. 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. Analysts predict that Gen Digital will post 2.05 earnings per share for the current year.

Gen Digital Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 11th. Stockholders 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 dividend yield of 2.5%. Gen Digital’s payout ratio is currently 51.55%.

Institutional Trading of Gen Digital

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. International Assets Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in Gen Digital during the 4th quarter worth $27,000. Spire Wealth Management boosted its position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 994 shares during the period. True Wealth Design LLC boosted its position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 529 shares during the period. Clearstead Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Gen Digital by 48.6% in the 3rd quarter. Clearstead Advisors LLC now owns 1,223 shares of the company’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 400 shares during the period. Finally, CYBER HORNET ETFs LLC purchased a new stake in Gen Digital during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $44,000. 81.38% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.