Corning Incorporated (NYSE:GLW) Short Interest Up 49.2% in June

Corning Incorporated (NYSE:GLW) saw a significant increase in short interest in June. As of June 15th, there was short interest totalling 19,290,000 shares, an increase of 49.2% from the May 31st total of 12,930,000 shares. Currently, 2.5% of the company’s stock are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 5,770,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 3.3 days.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Fox Advisors upgraded shares of Corning from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $45.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Monday, June 17th. StockNews.com raised Corning from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, April 1st. Susquehanna reiterated a “positive” rating and set a $40.00 price target on shares of Corning in a research note on Monday, April 1st. Citigroup raised their price objective on Corning from $38.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, June 21st. Finally, Bank of America upped their target price on Corning from $38.00 to $42.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, June 14th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $38.67.

Insider Activity at Corning

In other news, SVP John Z. Zhang sold 12,546 shares of Corning stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $33.42, for a total value of $419,287.32. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 11,355 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $379,484.10. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other Corning news, VP Jeffrey W. Evenson sold 103,437 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $33.19, for a total value of $3,433,074.03. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 70,110 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,326,950.90. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, SVP John Z. Zhang sold 12,546 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $33.42, for a total value of $419,287.32. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 11,355 shares in the company, valued at approximately $379,484.10. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 175,207 shares of company stock valued at $5,876,067 over the last quarter. 0.40% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Corning

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Alaska Permanent Fund Corp increased its stake in 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 buying an additional 329 shares in the last quarter. Level Four Advisory Services LLC increased its position in shares of Corning by 3.8% during the fourth quarter. Level Four Advisory Services LLC now owns 9,411 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $287,000 after purchasing an additional 343 shares in the last quarter. Madison Asset Management LLC raised its stake in Corning by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. Madison Asset Management LLC now owns 53,113 shares of the electronics maker’s stock valued at $1,617,000 after purchasing an additional 349 shares during the last quarter. Patron Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Corning by 2.4% in the 1st 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, First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. boosted its stake in Corning by 4.1% during the 1st quarter. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. now owns 9,206 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $303,000 after purchasing an additional 361 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 69.80% of the company’s stock.

Corning Price Performance

Shares of Corning stock traded up $0.26 on Friday, hitting $38.85. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 8,378,016 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,940,919. The company has a market capitalization of $33.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 54.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.75 and a beta of 1.08. Corning has a 1 year low of $25.26 and a 1 year high of $40.46. 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 firm has a fifty day moving average price of $35.97 and a 200-day moving average price of $33.11.

Corning (NYSE:GLW) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 30th. The electronics maker reported $0.38 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.36 by $0.02. Corning had a return on equity of 12.31% and a net margin of 4.96%. The business had revenue of $2.98 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.12 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.41 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was down 11.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Corning will post 1.9 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Corning Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 30th will be given a $0.28 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 29th. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.88%. Corning’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 157.75%.

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.