Corning Target of Unusually Large Options Trading (NYSE:GLW)

Corning Incorporated (NYSE:GLW) was the target of unusually large options trading activity on Thursday. Investors acquired 92,077 call options on the company. This represents an increase of approximately 580% compared to the typical daily volume of 13,541 call options.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating and issued a $39.00 price target on shares of Corning in a research report on Friday, July 26th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Corning from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Mizuho upgraded shares of Corning from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $44.00 to $47.00 in a report on Wednesday, August 21st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price objective on Corning from $49.00 to $54.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price target on Corning from $46.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $50.08.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Corning

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. City Holding Co. boosted its holdings in Corning by 545.5% during the 3rd quarter. City Holding Co. now owns 710 shares of the electronics maker’s stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 600 shares during the period. ESL Trust Services LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Corning during the first quarter valued at $33,000. Accordant Advisory Group Inc bought a new position in shares of Corning in the second quarter worth about $39,000. Cassady Schiller Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Corning in the 3rd quarter worth about $39,000. Finally, RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC bought a new stake in Corning during the 3rd quarter valued at about $40,000. Institutional investors own 69.80% of the company’s stock.

Corning Price Performance

Shares of NYSE GLW traded down $0.28 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $46.49. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 3,655,835 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,084,251. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $45.74 and a two-hundred day moving average of $41.48. The firm has a market capitalization of $39.81 billion, a PE ratio of 273.47, a P/E/G ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 1.03. Corning has a 52 week low of $27.57 and a 52 week high of $51.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 1.66 and a quick ratio of 1.05.

Corning (NYSE:GLW) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 29th. The electronics maker reported $0.54 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.53 by $0.01. Corning had a net margin of 1.24% and a return on equity of 13.45%. The business had revenue of $3.39 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.72 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.45 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 6.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Corning will post 1.95 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Corning Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 13th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.28 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 15th. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.41%. Corning’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 658.82%.

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.