Corning Incorporated (NYSE:GLW) Given Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Corning Incorporated (NYSE:GLW) has received an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the fourteen ratings firms that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average 1-year price objective among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $54.31.

GLW has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Bank of America lifted their price target on Corning from $65.00 to $68.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 19th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on Corning from $39.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. Barclays lowered 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. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Corning from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. Finally, Hsbc Global Res upgraded shares of Corning from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th.

Corning Trading Down 1.1 %

NYSE:GLW opened at $46.60 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $39.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 80.35, a P/E/G ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 1.03. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $49.92 and a 200 day simple moving average of $47.87. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 1.62 and a quick ratio of 1.07. 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%. Equities research analysts predict that Corning will post 2.33 EPS for the current year.

Corning Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Michael Alan Bell sold 2,209 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $49.87, for a total value 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 Corning stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $51.92, for a total value of $1,557,600.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 152,944 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,940,852.48. This trade represents a 16.40 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.40% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Corning

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in GLW. Northstar Advisory Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Corning by 258.4% during the 4th 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% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 191,648 shares of the electronics maker’s stock valued at $8,975,000 after acquiring an additional 62,514 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC lifted its stake in Corning by 52.8% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 3,723,044 shares of the electronics maker’s stock valued at $168,095,000 after acquiring an additional 1,285,836 shares during the last quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp grew its position in Corning by 16.8% in the fourth quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 111,448 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $5,296,000 after acquiring an additional 16,001 shares in the last quarter. Finally, First Financial Bank Trust Division increased its stake in shares of Corning by 27.5% during the 4th quarter. First Financial Bank Trust Division now owns 138,153 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $6,565,000 after purchasing an additional 29,790 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 69.80% of the company’s stock.

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.