Corning (NYSE:GLW) Shares Down 4.6% – Should You Sell?

Corning Incorporated (NYSE:GLW) shares dropped 4.6% during trading on Friday. The stock traded as low as $110.56 and last traded at $113.9770. Approximately 6,693,989 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 43% from the average daily volume of 11,845,467 shares. The stock had previously closed at $119.50.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have weighed in on GLW. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Corning in a research note on Tuesday, September 15th. Weiss Ratings downgraded Corning from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Friday, August 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on shares of Corning from $170.00 to $165.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 21st. Fox Advisors raised shares of Corning from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, November 5th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on shares of Corning in a research report on Wednesday. They issued a “buy” rating and a $134.00 price target for the company. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have issued a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $172.18.

Corning Stock Down 4.6%

The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $141.45 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $156.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a quick ratio of 1.17 and a current ratio of 1.72. The company has a market capitalization of $98.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 46.14, a PEG ratio of 1.47 and a beta of 1.23.

Corning (NYSE:GLW) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, October 27th. The electronics maker reported $0.91 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.88 by $0.03. Corning had a return on equity of 20.83% and a net margin of 12.13%. The company had revenue of $5.08 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.03 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.67 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 18.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts predict that Corning Incorporated will post 3.38 EPS for the current year.

Corning Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 11th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 13th will be issued a $0.28 dividend. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 13th. Corning’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 45.34%.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Lewis Steverson sold 13,100 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $151.29, for a total value of $1,981,899.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 15,052 shares in the company, valued at $2,277,217.08. This trade represents a 46.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 0.25% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. State Street Corp increased its position in shares of Corning by 13.4% in the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 41,108,384 shares of the electronics maker’s stock valued at $10,500,315,000 after buying an additional 4,845,027 shares in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE boosted its position in shares of Corning by 29.2% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 18,730,616 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $4,784,361,000 after buying an additional 4,231,507 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its position in shares of Corning by 50.9% in the 2nd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 13,174,194 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $3,365,084,000 after buying an additional 4,446,514 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp purchased a new stake in shares of Corning in the 2nd quarter worth about $1,510,911,000. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc purchased a new stake in shares of Corning in the 2nd quarter worth about $1,212,283,000. 69.80% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Corning Company Profile

Corning Incorporated is a materials science and technology company with roots dating to 1851, when it was established as Corning Glass Works. The company develops and manufactures specialty glass, ceramics and optical materials for customers in a range of industries. Its products include optical fiber, cable and connectivity solutions for communications networks; glass substrates used in display technologies; and specialty glass such as Gorilla Glass for consumer electronics. Corning also makes ceramic substrates and filters for emissions-control systems, as well as glassware and other products for life sciences and laboratory use.