Investors Purchase Large Volume of Corning Call Options (NYSE:GLW)

Corning Incorporated (NYSE:GLW) was the recipient of some unusual options trading activity on Tuesday. Stock investors purchased 26,415 call options on the company. This represents an increase of 96% compared to the average daily volume of 13,497 call options.

Corning Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:GLW opened at $49.73 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $42.59 billion, a PE ratio of 85.74, 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 has a 50-day moving average price of $50.01 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $46.93. Corning has a twelve month low of $30.72 and a twelve month high of $55.33.

Corning (NYSE:GLW) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The electronics maker reported $0.57 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 forecast that Corning will post 2.33 EPS for the current year.

Corning Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Investors of record on Friday, February 28th will be issued 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 yield of 2.25%. Corning’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 193.10%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently commented on GLW. HSBC upgraded shares of Corning from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the company from $51.00 to $60.00 in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Hsbc Global Res raised shares of Corning from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. StockNews.com lowered Corning from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday. Barclays dropped their price target on Corning from $53.00 to $52.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Finally, Citigroup boosted their price objective on Corning from $55.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $53.00.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Michael Alan Bell sold 2,209 shares of Corning stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $49.87, for a total transaction of $110,162.83. The sale was disclosed in a legal 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 value of $1,557,600.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 152,944 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,940,852.48. This trade represents a 16.40 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in GLW. Sound Income Strategies LLC boosted its position in shares of Corning by 76.7% in the fourth quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 523 shares of the electronics maker’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 227 shares during the period. Sierra Ocean LLC bought a new position in Corning in the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Asset Planning Inc bought a new position in Corning in the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. Vermillion Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Corning during the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. Finally, Putney Financial Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Corning in the fourth quarter worth $30,000. Hedge funds and other 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.