Corning Sees Unusually High Options Volume (NYSE:GLW)

Corning Incorporated (NYSE:GLW) was the recipient of unusually large options trading on Monday. Investors bought 28,561 call options on the company. This represents an increase of approximately 300% compared to the typical volume of 7,149 call options.

Insider Transactions at Corning

In other news, EVP Lewis A. Steverson sold 29,978 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $33.05, for a total value of $990,772.90. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 31,294 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,034,266.70. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other Corning news, VP Jeffrey W. Evenson sold 12,830 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $37.39, for a total value of $479,713.70. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 57,280 shares in the company, valued at $2,141,699.20. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Lewis A. Steverson sold 29,978 shares of Corning stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $33.05, for a total value of $990,772.90. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 31,294 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,034,266.70. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 175,207 shares of company stock worth $5,876,067. 0.45% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Corning

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in GLW. Alaska Permanent Fund Corp boosted its stake in shares of Corning by 0.4% during the 1st quarter. Alaska Permanent Fund Corp now owns 83,551 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $2,754,000 after acquiring an additional 329 shares in the last quarter. Level Four Advisory Services LLC increased its holdings in Corning by 3.8% in the 4th quarter. Level Four Advisory Services LLC now owns 9,411 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $287,000 after acquiring an additional 343 shares in the last quarter. Madison Asset Management LLC raised its position in Corning by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. Madison Asset Management LLC now owns 53,113 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $1,617,000 after acquiring an additional 349 shares during the period. Patron Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Corning by 2.4% during the first quarter. Patron Partners LLC now owns 14,761 shares of the electronics maker’s stock valued at $487,000 after purchasing an additional 349 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Trust Co. of Vermont grew its position in shares of Corning by 6.4% in the second quarter. Trust Co. of Vermont now owns 5,810 shares of the electronics maker’s stock valued at $226,000 after purchasing an additional 350 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 69.80% of the company’s stock.

Corning Stock Up 3.8 %

Corning stock opened at $44.67 on Wednesday. Corning has a fifty-two week low of $25.26 and a fifty-two week high of $45.05. The company has a market cap of $38.27 billion, a PE ratio of 62.92, a PEG ratio of 1.75 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 business’s 50-day simple moving average is $37.12 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $33.64.

Corning (NYSE:GLW) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 30th. The electronics maker reported $0.38 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 the consensus estimate of $3.12 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.41 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 11.5% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts anticipate that Corning will post 1.9 EPS for the current year.

Corning Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 30th will be issued a $0.28 dividend. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.51%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 29th. Corning’s payout ratio is presently 157.75%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have weighed in on GLW. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised Corning from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $37.00 to $43.00 in a research report on Thursday, May 30th. Bank of America increased their price objective on shares of Corning from $38.00 to $42.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, June 14th. Mizuho boosted their price objective on shares of Corning from $36.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 18th. Fox Advisors raised Corning from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $45.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Monday, June 17th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Corning from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, April 1st. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Corning presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $41.92.

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.