Corning Incorporated (NYSE:GLW) Short Interest Up 18.4% in May

Corning Incorporated (NYSE:GLW - Get Free Report) was the target of a significant increase in short interest in May. As of May 15th, there was short interest totalling 12,670,000 shares, an increase of 18.4% from the April 30th total of 10,700,000 shares. Currently, 1.6% of the company's stock are sold short. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 6,350,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.0 days.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have commented on GLW. Wall Street Zen downgraded Corning from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. Oppenheimer reduced their target price on Corning from $58.00 to $55.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Mizuho set a $52.00 target price on Corning in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. Bank of America raised their price target on Corning from $65.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, March 19th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on Corning from $62.00 to $50.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Corning currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $53.08.

Insider Activity

In other Corning news, SVP Stefan Becker sold 17,106 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $49.68, for a total transaction of $849,826.08. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 16,117 shares of the company's stock, valued at $800,692.56. This trade represents a 51.49% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, SVP Soumya Seetharam sold 6,505 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.01, for a total value of $325,315.05. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 25,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,250,250. This represents a 20.65% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 75,796 shares of company stock worth $3,632,635. 0.40% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Corning

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Sierra Ocean LLC acquired a new position in shares of Corning during the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Asset Planning Inc acquired a new position in shares of Corning during the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. Vermillion Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Corning during the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. Putney Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Corning during the 4th quarter valued at $30,000. Finally, Mainstream Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Corning during the 4th quarter valued at $35,000. 69.80% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Corning Stock Performance

GLW traded down $0.12 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $50.74. The company's stock had a trading volume of 3,638,968 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,986,673. Corning has a fifty-two week low of $36.58 and a fifty-two week high of $55.33. The company has a current ratio of 1.62, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62. The firm has a market capitalization of $43.46 billion, a PE ratio of 87.48, a PEG ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 1.11. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $45.28 and a 200 day simple moving average of $47.68.

Corning (NYSE:GLW - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The electronics maker reported $0.54 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.51 by $0.03. Corning had a return on equity of 15.10% and a net margin of 3.86%. The firm had revenue of $3.68 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.63 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.38 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 12.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Corning will post 2.33 EPS for the current year.

Corning Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 30th will be given a dividend of $0.28 per share. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.21%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 30th. Corning's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 215.38%.

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.