Corning Incorporated (NYSE:GLW) Sees Large Decline in Short Interest

Corning Incorporated (NYSE:GLW - Get Free Report) was the target of a significant decline in short interest in October. As of October 15th, there was short interest totalling 11,160,000 shares, a decline of 6.9% from the September 30th total of 11,990,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 5,100,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.2 days. Approximately 1.4% of the shares of the stock are short sold.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently issued reports on GLW. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Corning from $46.00 to $51.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an "equal weight" rating and set a $39.00 target price on shares of Corning in a research note on Friday, July 26th. 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. Mizuho raised Corning from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $44.00 to $47.00 in a research report on Wednesday, August 21st. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price objective on shares of Corning from $49.00 to $54.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Corning has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $50.08.

Corning Stock Performance

NYSE GLW traded down $0.45 on Thursday, reaching $47.59. The stock had a trading volume of 6,855,015 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,751,035. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $44.27 and a two-hundred day moving average of $40.16. The company has a market cap of $40.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 67.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.73 and a beta of 1.04. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a current ratio of 1.57 and a quick ratio of 0.98. Corning has a 1-year low of $26.41 and a 1-year high of $51.03.

Corning (NYSE:GLW - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 29th. The electronics maker reported $0.54 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.53 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $3.39 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.72 billion. Corning had a return on equity of 12.69% and a net margin of 3.53%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 6.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.45 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Corning will post 1.91 EPS for the current year.

Corning Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 13th. Investors of record on Friday, November 15th will be paid a $0.28 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 15th. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.35%. Corning's payout ratio is presently 157.75%.

Institutional Trading of Corning

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its stake in shares of Corning by 35.1% during the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 17,200,828 shares of the electronics maker's stock valued at $566,941,000 after purchasing an additional 4,464,893 shares during the period. Natixis increased its stake in shares of Corning by 2,405.2% during the first quarter. Natixis now owns 1,807,801 shares of the electronics maker's stock worth $59,585,000 after purchasing an additional 1,735,638 shares in the last quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC boosted its position in Corning by 4,306.9% during the third quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC now owns 1,050,463 shares of the electronics maker's stock worth $47,428,000 after acquiring an additional 1,026,626 shares during the last quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund increased its position in Corning by 10,626.4% during the first quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund now owns 1,013,000 shares of the electronics maker's stock worth $33,388,000 after purchasing an additional 1,003,556 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Shellback Capital LP purchased a new stake in Corning in the 2nd quarter valued at about $34,483,000. 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.