StockNews.com Downgrades Corning (NYSE:GLW) to Hold

StockNews.com lowered shares of Corning (NYSE:GLW) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research note published on Tuesday.

Several other brokerages have also recently weighed in on GLW. Oppenheimer reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $58.00 price target (up from $51.00) on shares of Corning in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Corning from $55.00 to $60.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. UBS Group increased their price target on shares of Corning from $46.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of Corning from $39.00 to $48.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. Finally, HSBC upgraded shares of Corning from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $51.00 to $60.00 in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Four equities research 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 MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $53.00.

Corning Price Performance

NYSE GLW opened at $48.93 on Tuesday. 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 market cap of $41.91 billion, a PE ratio of 84.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 1.03. Corning has a 52 week low of $30.72 and a 52 week high of $55.33. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $50.12 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $47.03.

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

Corning Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Investors 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 2.29%. Corning’s payout ratio is 193.10%.

Insider Activity at Corning

In other news, SVP Michael Alan Bell sold 2,209 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, COO Eric S. Musser sold 30,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 of the company’s stock, 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 currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Corning

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of GLW. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in Corning by 284.5% during the 4th quarter. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. now owns 115,963 shares of the electronics maker’s stock valued at $5,511,000 after purchasing an additional 85,806 shares in the last quarter. Virtue Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Corning by 6.6% during the fourth quarter. Virtue Capital Management LLC now owns 21,687 shares of the electronics maker’s stock valued at $1,031,000 after acquiring an additional 1,340 shares in the last quarter. Leigh Baldwin & CO. LLC purchased a new position in Corning in the 4th quarter worth approximately $585,000. Garde Capital Inc. bought a new position in Corning in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $100,000. Finally, Ameriflex Group Inc. bought a new position in Corning in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $98,000. 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.