Corning (NYSE:GLW) Stock Price Up 7.5% – Still a Buy?

Corning Incorporated (NYSE:GLW)’s share price traded up 7.5% on Wednesday. The stock traded as high as $123.87 and last traded at $120.56. 10,196,974 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 14% from the average session volume of 11,889,380 shares. The stock had previously closed at $112.13.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on GLW shares. Wall Street Zen raised Corning from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, October 10th. China Renaissance raised Corning from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $238.00 price target on the stock in a report on Tuesday, September 8th. Weiss Ratings cut Corning from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Friday, August 21st. Barclays lifted their price objective on Corning from $129.00 to $132.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 28th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on shares of Corning in a report on Wednesday. They set a “buy” rating and a $134.00 price target on the stock. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have given a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $172.18.

Corning Stock Down 4.6%

The company has a current ratio of 1.72, a quick ratio of 1.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51. The stock has a market cap of $98.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 46.35, a PEG ratio of 1.48 and a beta of 1.23. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $142.09 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $156.01.

Corning (NYSE:GLW) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, October 27th. The electronics maker reported $0.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.88 by $0.03. Corning had a net margin of 12.13% and a return on equity of 20.83%. The company had revenue of $5.08 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.03 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.67 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 18.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts forecast that Corning Incorporated will post 3.38 earnings per share for the current year.

Corning Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 11th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 13th will be issued a $0.28 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 13th. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.0%. Corning’s payout ratio is 45.34%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Corning news, EVP Lewis Steverson sold 13,100 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $151.29, for a total transaction of $1,981,899.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 15,052 shares in the company, valued at $2,277,217.08. This represents a 46.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. 0.25% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Corning

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System grew its holdings in Corning by 6.4% during the 3rd quarter. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System now owns 729,381 shares of the electronics maker’s stock valued at $112,150,000 after purchasing an additional 43,552 shares during the last quarter. Xcelsior Advisor Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of Corning by 700.4% in the third quarter. Xcelsior Advisor Partners LLC now owns 25,172 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $3,870,000 after buying an additional 22,027 shares during the period. Bleakley Financial Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of Corning by 9.9% in the third quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC now owns 50,147 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $7,711,000 after buying an additional 4,525 shares during the period. Essex Financial Services Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Corning by 6.1% in the third quarter. Essex Financial Services Inc. now owns 10,210 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $1,570,000 after buying an additional 590 shares during the period. Finally, Lifeworks Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Corning by 0.4% during the 3rd quarter. Lifeworks Advisors LLC now owns 65,293 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $10,039,000 after acquiring an additional 241 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 69.80% of the company’s stock.

About Corning

Corning Incorporated is a materials science and technology company with roots dating to 1851, when it was established as Corning Glass Works. The company develops and manufactures specialty glass, ceramics and optical materials for customers in a range of industries. Its products include optical fiber, cable and connectivity solutions for communications networks; glass substrates used in display technologies; and specialty glass such as Gorilla Glass for consumer electronics. Corning also makes ceramic substrates and filters for emissions-control systems, as well as glassware and other products for life sciences and laboratory use.