Bank of America Raises Corning (NYSE:GLW) Price Target to $68.00

Corning (NYSE:GLW) had its price target lifted by Bank of America from $65.00 to $68.00 in a report published on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. Bank of America currently has a buy rating on the electronics maker’s stock.

Other analysts have also issued reports about the company. Hsbc Global Res raised Corning from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Corning from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of Corning from $39.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. Barclays cut their target price on shares of Corning from $53.00 to $52.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Finally, HSBC upgraded shares of Corning from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $51.00 to $60.00 in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $54.31.

Corning Trading Up 3.3 %

Shares of Corning stock opened at $48.84 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.07, a current ratio of 1.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62. Corning has a 12-month low of $30.72 and a 12-month high of $55.33. The company has a market capitalization of $41.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 84.20, a PEG ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 1.03. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $49.86 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $47.62.

Corning (NYSE:GLW) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The electronics maker reported $0.57 earnings per share (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%. On average, analysts forecast that Corning will post 2.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Corning Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 28th will be paid a $0.28 dividend. The ex-dividend date 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 Transactions at Corning

In other Corning news, COO Eric S. Musser sold 30,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $51.92, for a total transaction of $1,557,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 152,944 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,940,852.48. This represents a 16.40 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Michael Alan Bell sold 2,209 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $49.87, for a total transaction of $110,162.83. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.45% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in GLW. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund lifted its stake in Corning by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 66,063 shares of the electronics maker’s stock valued at $3,139,000 after buying an additional 204 shares during the period. Principal Securities Inc. increased its stake in shares of Corning by 3.5% in the 4th quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 6,170 shares of the electronics maker’s stock valued at $293,000 after acquiring an additional 211 shares in the last quarter. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co. lifted its position in shares of Corning by 9.7% during the 4th quarter. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co. now owns 2,422 shares of the electronics maker’s stock valued at $115,000 after acquiring an additional 214 shares during the period. Bogart Wealth LLC grew its holdings in Corning by 18.3% in the fourth quarter. Bogart Wealth LLC now owns 1,419 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $67,000 after purchasing an additional 219 shares during the period. Finally, Buffington Mohr McNeal increased its stake in Corning by 2.1% in the fourth quarter. Buffington Mohr McNeal now owns 10,461 shares of the electronics maker’s stock valued at $497,000 after purchasing an additional 220 shares in the last quarter. 69.80% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.