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

Shares of Corning Incorporated (NYSE:GLW) have been given an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the fourteen research firms that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month price objective among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $54.31.

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on GLW shares. Barclays dropped their price objective on Corning from $53.00 to $52.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. HSBC upgraded Corning from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $51.00 to $60.00 in a report on Thursday, January 30th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Corning from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. Bank of America upped their target price on shares of Corning from $65.00 to $68.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 19th. Finally, Citigroup raised their price target on shares of Corning from $55.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Michael Alan Bell sold 2,209 shares of Corning stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $49.87, for a total transaction of $110,162.83. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, COO Eric S. Musser sold 30,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 152,944 shares in the company, valued at $7,940,852.48. This represents a 16.40 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.40% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Northstar Advisory Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of Corning by 258.4% in the fourth quarter. Northstar Advisory Group LLC now owns 123,808 shares of the electronics maker’s stock valued at $5,883,000 after buying an additional 89,268 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its position in Corning by 48.4% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 191,648 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $8,975,000 after purchasing an additional 62,514 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC lifted its holdings in Corning by 52.8% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 3,723,044 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $168,095,000 after buying an additional 1,285,836 shares in the last quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp boosted its position in Corning by 16.8% in the 4th quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 111,448 shares of the electronics maker’s stock valued at $5,296,000 after buying an additional 16,001 shares during the last quarter. Finally, First Financial Bank Trust Division raised its position in shares of Corning by 27.5% during the fourth quarter. First Financial Bank Trust Division now owns 138,153 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $6,565,000 after acquiring an additional 29,790 shares during the last quarter. 69.80% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Corning Stock Down 1.1 %

Shares of Corning stock opened at $46.60 on Friday. Corning has a 12-month low of $30.72 and a 12-month high of $55.33. 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 stock has a 50 day moving average price of $49.92 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $47.87. The stock has a market capitalization of $39.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 80.35, a PEG ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 1.03.

Corning (NYSE:GLW) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The electronics maker reported $0.57 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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%. Equities analysts expect that Corning will post 2.33 earnings per share for the current year.

Corning Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 28th will be paid a $0.28 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 28th. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.40%. Corning’s dividend payout ratio is currently 193.10%.

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.