Corning Incorporated (NYSE:GLW) Receives Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Brokerages

Shares of Corning Incorporated (NYSE:GLW) have earned a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the fourteen brokerages that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month target price among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $53.00.

A number of research firms have weighed in on GLW. Hsbc Global Res raised shares of Corning from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. HSBC raised shares of Corning from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $51.00 to $60.00 in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of Corning from $39.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. Barclays reduced their target price on shares of Corning from $53.00 to $52.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of Corning from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 25th.

Corning Price Performance

GLW stock opened at $50.25 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $43.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 86.63, a P/E/G ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 1.03. The company has a quick ratio of 1.07, a current ratio of 1.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $50.18 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $47.16. Corning has a 12 month low of $30.72 and a 12 month high of $55.33.

Corning (NYSE:GLW) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The electronics maker reported $0.57 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.56 by $0.01. Corning had a net margin of 3.86% and a return on equity of 15.10%. On average, analysts anticipate that Corning will post 2.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Corning Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Investors of record on Friday, February 28th will be given a dividend of $0.28 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 28th. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.23%. Corning’s payout ratio is presently 193.10%.

Insider Activity at Corning

In other Corning news, SVP Michael Alan Bell sold 2,209 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $49.87, for a total transaction of $110,162.83. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, COO Eric S. Musser sold 30,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $51.92, for a total transaction of $1,557,600.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 152,944 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,940,852.48. The trade was a 16.40 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.40% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Corning

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in GLW. Sound Income Strategies LLC grew its position in Corning by 76.7% during the fourth quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 523 shares of the electronics maker’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 227 shares during the period. Sierra Ocean LLC bought a new position in Corning during the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. Asset Planning Inc bought a new position in Corning during the fourth quarter valued at about $29,000. Vermillion Wealth Management Inc. bought a new position in Corning during the fourth quarter valued at about $29,000. Finally, Putney Financial Group LLC bought a new position in Corning during the fourth quarter valued at about $30,000. Institutional investors own 69.80% of the company’s stock.

About Corning

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.