Corning Sees Unusually High Options Volume (NYSE:GLW)

Corning Incorporated (NYSE:GLW) was the recipient of some unusual options trading on Thursday. Traders purchased 22,076 call options on the stock. This represents an increase of approximately 526% compared to the average volume of 3,525 call options.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on GLW shares. UBS Group upped their price target on Corning from $34.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, April 8th. HSBC cut Corning from a “hold” rating to a “reduce” rating and set a $29.00 price objective for the company. in a research report on Thursday, February 1st. StockNews.com raised Corning from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, April 1st. Barclays upped their price objective on Corning from $28.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 31st. Finally, Susquehanna reaffirmed a “positive” rating and set a $40.00 price objective on shares of Corning in a research report on Monday, April 1st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Corning currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $34.56.

Corning Stock Down 0.3 %

Shares of NYSE GLW opened at $30.89 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $26.42 billion, a PE ratio of 46.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.75 and a beta of 1.08. The company has a quick ratio of 1.05, a current ratio of 1.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61. Corning has a 52-week low of $25.26 and a 52-week high of $36.01. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $32.33 and a 200 day moving average price of $30.38.

Corning (NYSE:GLW) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, January 30th. The electronics maker reported $0.39 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.39. The firm had revenue of $2.99 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.26 billion. Corning had a return on equity of 12.31% and a net margin of 4.62%. The business’s revenue was down 12.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.47 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Corning will post 1.87 earnings per share for the current year.

Corning Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 29th were given a dividend of $0.28 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 28th. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.63%. Corning’s payout ratio is 167.16%.

Insider Activity at Corning

In other Corning news, Vice Chairman Lawrence D. Mcrae sold 77,464 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $33.24, for a total transaction of $2,574,903.36. Following the sale, the insider now owns 215,254 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,155,042.96. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Corning

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. West Oak Capital LLC lifted its position in Corning by 1.1% during the 1st quarter. West Oak Capital LLC now owns 51,430 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $1,695,000 after acquiring an additional 540 shares during the period. Claro Advisors LLC lifted its position in Corning by 7.8% during the 1st quarter. Claro Advisors LLC now owns 7,490 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $247,000 after acquiring an additional 541 shares during the period. Diversified Trust Co lifted its position in Corning by 10.8% during the 1st quarter. Diversified Trust Co now owns 12,254 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $404,000 after acquiring an additional 1,191 shares during the period. Aviance Capital Partners LLC lifted its position in Corning by 7.3% during the 1st quarter. Aviance Capital Partners LLC now owns 25,878 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $853,000 after acquiring an additional 1,760 shares during the period. Finally, LVW Advisors LLC lifted its position in Corning by 20.6% during the 1st quarter. LVW Advisors LLC now owns 9,385 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $309,000 after acquiring an additional 1,600 shares during the period. 69.80% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Corning Company Profile

Corning Incorporated engages in the display technologies, optical communications, environmental technologies, specialty materials, and life sciences businesses in the United States and internationally. The company's Display Technologies segment offers glass substrates for flat panel displays, including liquid crystal displays and organic light-emitting diodes that are used in televisions, notebook computers, desktop monitors, tablets, and handheld devices.