Corning (NYSE:GLW) Reaches New 12-Month High Following Analyst Upgrade

Corning Incorporated (NYSE:GLW) shares reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Friday after UBS Group raised their price target on the stock from $125.00 to $160.00. UBS Group currently has a buy rating on the stock. Corning traded as high as $137.73 and last traded at $138.3820, with a volume of 1575494 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $129.99.

Several other equities research analysts have also commented on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Corning from $100.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 28th. Fox Advisors cut shares of Corning from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Wall Street Zen raised Corning from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 23rd. HSBC restated a “buy” rating and issued a $135.00 target price on shares of Corning in a research report on Friday, February 13th. Finally, Mizuho boosted their price target on Corning from $97.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $117.17.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CFO Edward A. Schlesinger sold 21,104 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $104.55, for a total value of $2,206,423.20. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 54,780 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,727,249. This represents a 27.81% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, COO Avery H. Nelson III sold 6,262 shares of Corning stock in a transaction on Monday, February 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $129.79, for a total value of $812,744.98. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer owned 61,371 shares in the company, valued at $7,965,342.09. This represents a 9.26% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 95,687 shares of company stock worth $11,249,008 over the last ninety days. 0.40% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Corning

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in Corning by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 99,283,317 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $8,693,247,000 after purchasing an additional 580,678 shares during the period. State Street Corp boosted its stake in shares of Corning by 1.2% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 37,008,856 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $3,035,836,000 after buying an additional 439,883 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Corning by 2.6% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 20,411,824 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $1,781,250,000 after buying an additional 517,067 shares during the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors lifted its position in Corning by 52.7% during the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 16,890,802 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $1,478,959,000 after acquiring an additional 5,831,873 shares during the period. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its position in Corning by 30.3% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 16,557,489 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $1,358,211,000 after acquiring an additional 3,848,540 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 69.80% of the company’s stock.

Corning Stock Up 6.4%

The company has a market capitalization of $118.67 billion, a PE ratio of 75.14, a P/E/G ratio of 2.29 and a beta of 1.13. The company has a current ratio of 1.59, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $100.80 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $86.62.

Corning (NYSE:GLW) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 28th. The electronics maker reported $0.72 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.71 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $4.41 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.35 billion. Corning had a return on equity of 18.72% and a net margin of 10.21%.The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 13.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.57 earnings per share. Corning has set its Q1 2026 guidance at 0.660-0.700 EPS. Research analysts expect that Corning Incorporated will post 2.33 EPS for the current year.

Corning Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 27th will be given a dividend of $0.28 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 27th. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.8%. Corning’s payout ratio is presently 60.87%.

About Corning

Corning Incorporated is a global manufacturer specializing in specialty glass, ceramics and related materials and technologies. Headquartered in Corning, New York, the company supplies engineered materials and components used across multiple industries, including consumer electronics, telecommunications, automotive emissions control, pharmaceutical and life sciences, and industrial and scientific applications. Corning emphasizes materials science and precision manufacturing to develop durable, high-performance glass and ceramic products.

Key product lines include specialty display glass used by television and mobile-device manufacturers, cover glass marketed under well-known trade names for smartphones and tablets, and optical fiber and cable and related hardware for telecommunications networks.