Corning (NYSE:GLW) Downgraded to “Hold” Rating by StockNews.com

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

Other research analysts have also recently issued reports about the company. HSBC raised Corning from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $51.00 to $60.00 in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Corning from $55.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Barclays lowered their price objective on Corning from $53.00 to $52.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Hsbc Global Res raised Corning from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their target price on Corning from $49.00 to $54.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Corning currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $53.00.

Corning Trading Down 2.1 %

GLW opened at $49.73 on Tuesday. Corning has a 12 month low of $30.72 and a 12 month high of $55.33. The stock has a market capitalization of $42.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 85.74, a PEG ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 1.03. 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 business has a fifty day moving average price of $50.01 and a 200 day moving average price of $46.93.

Corning (NYSE:GLW) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The electronics maker reported $0.57 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.56 by $0.01. Corning had a return on equity of 15.10% and a net margin of 3.86%. Sell-side analysts expect that Corning will post 2.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Corning Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed 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. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.25%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 28th. Corning’s dividend payout ratio is presently 193.10%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Corning

In other Corning news, COO Eric S. Musser sold 30,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 31st. The stock was 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 directly owns 152,944 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,940,852.48. This represents a 16.40 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, SVP Michael Alan Bell sold 2,209 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $49.87, for a total value of $110,162.83. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.40% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Corning

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