Corning (NYSE:GLW) Given New $50.00 Price Target at Citigroup

Corning (NYSE:GLW) had its target price cut by Citigroup from $58.00 to $50.00 in a report issued on Monday morning, MarketBeat.com reports. They currently have a buy rating on the electronics maker’s stock.

Other equities analysts also recently issued research reports about the company. Bank of America boosted their price target on Corning from $65.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 19th. HSBC raised shares of Corning from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $51.00 to $60.00 in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Corning from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. Barclays decreased their price target on shares of Corning from $53.00 to $52.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on Corning from $39.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Corning currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $54.08.

Corning Price Performance

Shares of NYSE GLW opened at $41.30 on Monday. Corning has a fifty-two week low of $30.72 and a fifty-two week high of $55.33. The stock has a market capitalization of $35.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 71.21, 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 50-day moving average of $46.86 and a 200-day moving average of $47.71.

Corning (NYSE:GLW) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The electronics maker reported $0.57 earnings per share 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%. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Corning will post 2.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Corning Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 28th were paid a $0.28 dividend. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.71%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 28th. Corning’s payout ratio is 193.10%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related 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 value of $1,557,600.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 152,944 shares in the company, valued at $7,940,852.48. This represents a 16.40 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, SVP Michael Alan Bell sold 2,209 shares of Corning stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $49.87, for a total transaction of $110,162.83. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.40% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Corning

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund boosted its stake in Corning by 0.3% during the fourth 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 in the last quarter. Principal Securities Inc. increased its position in Corning by 3.5% in 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 in the last quarter. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co. raised its stake 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 worth $115,000 after buying an additional 214 shares during the period. Bogart Wealth LLC raised its stake in Corning by 18.3% during the 4th quarter. Bogart Wealth LLC now owns 1,419 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $67,000 after buying an additional 219 shares during the period. Finally, Buffington Mohr McNeal boosted its holdings in Corning by 2.1% in the fourth quarter. Buffington Mohr McNeal now owns 10,461 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $497,000 after acquiring an additional 220 shares in the last quarter. 69.80% of the stock is currently owned by 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.