StockNews.com Upgrades Corning (NYSE:GLW) to “Buy”

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

A number of other brokerages have also recently issued reports on GLW. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Corning from $40.00 to $53.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 29th. Susquehanna lifted their target price on shares of Corning from $46.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a report on Friday, September 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Corning from $55.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Corning from $39.00 to $48.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their target price on Corning from $49.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $50.77.

Corning Stock Performance

Corning stock opened at $47.90 on Tuesday. Corning has a fifty-two week low of $29.71 and a fifty-two week high of $51.03. The stock has a market cap of $41.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 281.76, a PEG ratio of 1.54 and a beta of 1.03. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $47.76 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $43.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a current ratio of 1.66.

Corning (NYSE:GLW) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The electronics maker reported $0.54 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.53 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $3.39 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.72 billion. Corning had a return on equity of 13.45% and a net margin of 1.24%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.45 earnings per share. As a group, analysts expect that Corning will post 1.95 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Corning Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 13th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 15th were issued a dividend of $0.28 per share. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.34%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 15th. Corning’s payout ratio is presently 658.82%.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP John P. Bayne, Jr. sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $48.39, for a total value of $241,950.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 6,700 shares in the company, valued at $324,213. This trade represents a 42.74 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, SVP John P. Bayne, Jr. sold 8,876 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $49.09, for a total value of $435,722.84. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.45% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Corning

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in GLW. FMR LLC raised its holdings in Corning by 52.8% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 3,723,044 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $168,095,000 after purchasing an additional 1,285,836 shares during the period. State Street Corp increased its holdings in Corning by 3.8% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 33,983,090 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $1,534,337,000 after acquiring an additional 1,242,718 shares in the last quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Corning by 215.6% during the 3rd quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 1,677,513 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $75,740,000 after acquiring an additional 1,145,955 shares during the period. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC lifted its holdings in Corning by 4,306.9% during the third quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC now owns 1,050,463 shares of the electronics maker’s stock valued at $47,428,000 after purchasing an additional 1,026,626 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Shellback Capital LP bought a new position in shares of Corning in the second quarter worth approximately $34,483,000. 69.80% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.