Corning (NYSE:GLW) Price Target Raised to $48.00 at Morgan Stanley

Corning (NYSE:GLW) had its price target raised by Morgan Stanley from $39.00 to $48.00 in a research note published on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. Morgan Stanley currently has an equal weight rating on the electronics maker’s stock.

Other analysts have also recently issued reports about the company. Susquehanna upped their target price on Corning from $46.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a report on Friday, September 20th. Mizuho raised shares of Corning from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $44.00 to $47.00 in a report on Wednesday, August 21st. Oppenheimer reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $58.00 target price (up from $51.00) on shares of Corning in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Corning from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday. Finally, Bank of America lifted their price target on shares of Corning from $46.00 to $51.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, September 20th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Corning presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $50.77.

Corning Price Performance

Shares of NYSE GLW opened at $47.76 on Tuesday. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $47.71 and a 200-day simple moving average of $43.58. The company has a quick ratio of 1.05, a current ratio of 1.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62. The stock has a market capitalization of $40.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 280.94, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.54 and a beta of 1.03. Corning has a 52 week low of $29.71 and a 52 week high of $51.03.

Corning (NYSE:GLW) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 29th. The electronics maker reported $0.54 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.53 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $3.39 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.72 billion. Corning had a net margin of 1.24% and a return on equity of 13.45%. Corning’s quarterly revenue was up 6.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.45 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that Corning will post 1.95 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Corning Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 13th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 15th were given a $0.28 dividend. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.35%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 15th. Corning’s dividend payout ratio is currently 658.82%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP John P. Bayne, Jr. sold 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $48.39, for a total transaction of $241,950.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 6,700 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $324,213. This represents a 42.74 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP John P. Bayne, Jr. sold 8,876 shares of Corning stock in a transaction on Monday, November 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $49.09, for a total value of $435,722.84. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Corning

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. City Holding Co. increased its position in shares of Corning by 545.5% in the 3rd quarter. City Holding Co. now owns 710 shares of the electronics maker’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 600 shares during the last quarter. Cassady Schiller Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Corning during the third quarter worth $39,000. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC acquired a new position in shares of Corning during the third quarter worth $40,000. Global Trust Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in Corning by 2,250.0% in the third quarter. Global Trust Asset Management LLC now owns 940 shares of the electronics maker’s stock valued at $42,000 after buying an additional 900 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Venturi Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in Corning by 90.8% in the third quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 994 shares of the electronics maker’s stock valued at $45,000 after buying an additional 473 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 69.80% of the company’s stock.

Corning Company Profile

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.