Corning (NYSE:GLW) Shares Gap Down to $42.68

Corning Incorporated (NYSE:GLW)’s stock price gapped down before the market opened on Tuesday . The stock had previously closed at $42.68, but opened at $39.55. Corning shares last traded at $38.48, with a volume of 4,733,577 shares traded.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have weighed in on the company. HSBC upgraded Corning from a “reduce” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $37.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, July 9th. Oppenheimer reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $50.00 price target (up from $40.00) on shares of Corning in a report on Wednesday, July 10th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price objective on Corning from $39.00 to $46.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 9th. Bank of America boosted their price target on Corning from $38.00 to $42.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, June 14th. Finally, Susquehanna reaffirmed a “positive” rating and issued a $40.00 target price on shares of Corning in a research report on Monday, April 1st. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $44.31.

Corning Stock Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $33.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 53.97, a PEG ratio of 1.58 and a beta of 1.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.67. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $39.99 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $35.03.

Corning (NYSE:GLW) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The electronics maker reported $0.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 business had revenue of $2.98 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.12 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.41 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 11.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Corning Incorporated will post 1.94 EPS for the current year.

Corning Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 30th will be issued a dividend of $0.28 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 29th. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.87%. Corning’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 157.75%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Lewis A. Steverson sold 29,978 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $33.05, for a total transaction of $990,772.90. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 31,294 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,034,266.70. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, EVP Lewis A. Steverson sold 29,978 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $33.05, for a total transaction of $990,772.90. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 31,294 shares in the company, valued at $1,034,266.70. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, VP Jeffrey W. Evenson sold 103,437 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $33.19, for a total transaction of $3,433,074.03. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 70,110 shares in the company, valued at $2,326,950.90. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 175,207 shares of company stock valued at $5,876,067 over the last quarter. Insiders own 0.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Corning

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Cape Investment Advisory Inc. lifted its position in shares of Corning by 800.0% in the 4th quarter. Cape Investment Advisory Inc. now owns 900 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 800 shares during the period. Access Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Corning during the 1st quarter valued at about $28,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Corning by 347.3% in the fourth quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,060 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 823 shares during the last quarter. Emfo LLC purchased a new position in shares of Corning in the fourth quarter worth approximately $33,000. Finally, Future Financial Wealth Managment LLC purchased a new position in Corning during the first quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 69.80% of the company’s stock.

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.