Cognex (NASDAQ:CGNX – Get Free Report) and Corning (NYSE:GLW – Get Free Report) are both large-cap technology companies, but which is the superior investment? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, institutional ownership, profitability, valuation, dividends, earnings and risk.
Institutional & Insider Ownership
88.1% of Cognex shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 69.8% of Corning shares are owned by institutional investors. 1.7% of Cognex shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 0.3% of Corning shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a company is poised for long-term growth.
Analyst Recommendations
This is a summary of recent ratings and price targets for Cognex and Corning, as reported by MarketBeat.
| Sell Ratings | Hold Ratings | Buy Ratings | Strong Buy Ratings | Rating Score | |
| Cognex | 0 | 7 | 10 | 1 | 2.67 |
| Corning | 0 | 7 | 12 | 0 | 2.63 |
Earnings & Valuation
This table compares Cognex and Corning”s top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.
| Gross Revenue | Price/Sales Ratio | Net Income | Earnings Per Share | Price/Earnings Ratio | |
| Cognex | $994.36 million | 10.36 | $114.44 million | $1.03 | 59.43 |
| Corning | $15.63 billion | 8.99 | $1.60 billion | $2.19 | 74.48 |
Corning has higher revenue and earnings than Cognex. Cognex is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Corning, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.
Volatility and Risk
Cognex has a beta of 1.48, suggesting that its stock price is 48% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Corning has a beta of 1.13, suggesting that its stock price is 13% more volatile than the S&P 500.
Profitability
This table compares Cognex and Corning’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.
| Net Margins | Return on Equity | Return on Assets | |
| Cognex | 16.05% | 13.50% | 10.02% |
| Corning | 11.20% | 20.09% | 8.00% |
Dividends
Cognex pays an annual dividend of $0.34 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.6%. Corning pays an annual dividend of $1.12 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.7%. Cognex pays out 33.0% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Corning pays out 51.1% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Both companies have healthy payout ratios and should be able to cover their dividend payments with earnings for the next several years. Cognex has raised its dividend for 10 consecutive years.
Summary
Cognex beats Corning on 11 of the 18 factors compared between the two stocks.
About Cognex
Cognex Corporation provides machine vision products that capture and analyze visual information to automate manufacturing and distribution tasks worldwide. Its machine vision products are used to automate the manufacturing and tracking of discrete items, including mobile phones, electric vehicle batteries, and e-commerce packages by locating, identifying, inspecting, and measuring them during the manufacturing or distribution process. The company offers VisionPro software, a suite of patented vision tools for advanced programming; QuickBuild that allows customers to build vision applications with a graphical, flowchart-based programming interface; and Cognex deep learning vision software. It also provides a range of inspection tasks, including part location, identification, measurement, assembly verification, and robotic guidance; vision sensors for vision applications, such as checking the presence and size of parts; and the In-Sight product line of vision systems and sensors. In addition, the company offers DataMan, an image-based barcode readers and barcode verifiers. It sells its products to automotive, logistics, consumer electronics, medical-related, semiconductor, consumer products, food and beverage, and others, as well as through a network of distributors and integrators. The company was incorporated in 1981 and is headquartered in Natick, Massachusetts.
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. Its Optical Communications segment provides optical fibers and cables; and hardware and equipment products, such as cable assemblies, fiber optic hardware and connectors, optical components and couplers, closures, network interface devices, and other accessories for the telecommunications industry, businesses, governments, and individuals. The company's Specialty Materials segment manufactures products that offer material formulations for glass, glass ceramics, crystals, precision metrology instruments, and software, as well as glass wafers and substrates, tinted sunglasses, and radiation shielding products for various markets comprising mobile consumer electronics, semiconductor equipment optics and consumables, aerospace and defense optics, radiation shielding products, sunglasses, and telecommunications components. Its Environmental Technologies segment provides ceramic substrates and filter products for emissions control in mobile, gasoline, and diesel applications. The company's Life Sciences segment offers laboratory products, including consumables, such as plastic vessels, liquid handling plastics, specialty surfaces, cell culture media, and serum, as well as general labware, and glassware and equipment under the Corning, Pyrex, Falcon, and Axygen brands. The company was formerly known as Corning Glass Works and changed its name to Corning Incorporated in April 1989. Corning Incorporated was founded in 1851 and is headquartered in Corning, New York.
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