Corning Incorporated (NYSE:GLW) Receives $53.00 Average Price Target from Brokerages

Shares of Corning Incorporated (NYSE:GLW) have received an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the fourteen brokerages that are covering the company, MarketBeat reports. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has given 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 $53.00.

A number of research firms recently issued reports on GLW. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Corning from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. HSBC raised shares of Corning from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $51.00 to $60.00 in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Hsbc Global Res raised Corning from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Barclays reduced their target price on shares of Corning from $53.00 to $52.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price target on Corning from $39.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 17th.

Corning Stock Performance

NYSE:GLW opened at $45.89 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 1.62 and a quick ratio of 1.07. The firm has a market cap of $39.31 billion, a PE ratio of 79.13, a P/E/G ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 1.03. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $50.06 and a 200-day simple moving average of $47.38. Corning has a 1-year low of $30.72 and a 1-year high of $55.33.

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

Corning Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 28th. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.44%. Corning’s payout ratio is 193.10%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, SVP Michael Alan Bell sold 2,209 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $49.87, for a total transaction of $110,162.83. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, COO Eric S. Musser sold 30,000 shares of Corning 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 completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 152,944 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,940,852.48. The trade was a 16.40 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.40% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Corning

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Sound Income Strategies LLC grew its position in shares of Corning by 76.7% during the fourth quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 523 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 227 shares during the last quarter. Sierra Ocean LLC bought a new stake in Corning in the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Asset Planning Inc acquired a new position in Corning during the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. Vermillion Wealth Management Inc. bought a new position in Corning in the 4th quarter worth about $29,000. Finally, Putney Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Corning in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $30,000. 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.