Short Interest in Corning Incorporated (NYSE:GLW) Rises By 49.2%

Corning Incorporated (NYSE:GLW) was the recipient of a large increase in short interest in the month of June. As of June 15th, there was short interest totalling 19,290,000 shares, an increase of 49.2% from the May 31st total of 12,930,000 shares. Currently, 2.5% of the shares of the company are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 5,770,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 3.3 days.

Corning Price Performance

GLW traded up $0.04 on Monday, hitting $38.89. 344,178 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,398,143. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $35.97 and a 200-day moving average price of $33.16. The stock has a market cap of $33.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 54.72, a P/E/G ratio of 1.77 and a beta of 1.05. The company has a current ratio of 1.67, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61. Corning has a fifty-two week low of $25.26 and a fifty-two week high of $40.46.

Corning (NYSE:GLW) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 30th. The electronics maker reported $0.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.36 by $0.02. Corning had a net margin of 4.96% and a return on equity of 12.31%. The company had revenue of $2.98 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.12 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.41 EPS. Corning’s revenue was down 11.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Corning will post 1.9 earnings per share for the current year.

Corning Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 30th will be paid a dividend of $0.28 per share. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.88%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 29th. Corning’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 157.75%.

Insider Activity at Corning

In other news, VP Jeffrey W. Evenson sold 12,830 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $37.39, for a total value of $479,713.70. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 57,280 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,141,699.20. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, VP Jeffrey W. Evenson sold 12,830 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $37.39, for a total transaction of $479,713.70. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 57,280 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,141,699.20. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, VP Jeffrey W. Evenson sold 103,437 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, May 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $33.19, for a total transaction of $3,433,074.03. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 70,110 shares in the company, valued at $2,326,950.90. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 175,207 shares of company stock valued at $5,876,067 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.45% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of GLW. Old Port Advisors lifted its holdings in Corning by 4.4% in the first quarter. Old Port Advisors now owns 95,393 shares of the electronics maker’s stock valued at $3,144,000 after acquiring an additional 4,006 shares during the last quarter. HM Payson & Co. grew its holdings in shares of Corning by 55.6% during the 1st quarter. HM Payson & Co. now owns 5,803 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $191,000 after purchasing an additional 2,074 shares during the period. OMC Financial Services LTD acquired a new stake in shares of Corning during the 1st quarter worth about $634,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Corning by 184.7% in the 1st quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 3,018 shares of the electronics maker’s stock valued at $101,000 after buying an additional 1,958 shares during the period. Finally, Pathway Financial Advisers LLC acquired a new position in Corning in the first quarter valued at about $816,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 69.80% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Mizuho raised their price objective on shares of Corning from $36.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 18th. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Corning from $35.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 30th. StockNews.com upgraded Corning from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, April 1st. Morgan Stanley cut Corning from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $35.00 to $38.00 in a report on Thursday, June 13th. Finally, Bank of America upped their target price on Corning from $38.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, June 14th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $38.67.

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.