The PNC Financial Services Group (NYSE:PNC) Upgraded by Hsbc Global Res to Strong-Buy Rating

Hsbc Global Res upgraded shares of The PNC Financial Services Group (NYSE:PNC) from a hold rating to a strong-buy rating in a report published on Monday,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other analysts have also recently weighed in on PNC. Citigroup reduced their price objective on shares of The PNC Financial Services Group from $235.00 to $200.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, March 24th. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of The PNC Financial Services Group from $229.00 to $257.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, January 6th. HSBC raised The PNC Financial Services Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lowered their price target for the company from $206.00 to $202.00 in a research report on Monday. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price objective on The PNC Financial Services Group from $211.00 to $188.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, March 19th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on The PNC Financial Services Group from $235.00 to $230.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $204.12.

The PNC Financial Services Group Price Performance

Shares of PNC opened at $175.87 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a current ratio of 0.81. The firm has a market cap of $69.60 billion, a PE ratio of 12.79, a PEG ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 1.13. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $187.46 and its 200 day moving average price is $192.20. The PNC Financial Services Group has a twelve month low of $143.52 and a twelve month high of $216.26.

The PNC Financial Services Group (NYSE:PNC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 16th. The financial services provider reported $3.77 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.26 by $0.51. The business had revenue of $5.57 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.51 billion. The PNC Financial Services Group had a net margin of 17.10% and a return on equity of 11.12%. The PNC Financial Services Group’s quarterly revenue was up 3.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $3.16 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that The PNC Financial Services Group will post 15.37 EPS for the current fiscal year.

The PNC Financial Services Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 5th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, January 15th were paid a dividend of $1.60 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, January 15th. This represents a $6.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.64%. The PNC Financial Services Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 46.55%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO William S. Demchak sold 1,242 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $192.88, for a total transaction of $239,556.96. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 526,313 shares in the company, valued at $101,515,251.44. The trade was a 0.24 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Insiders sold 12,420 shares of company stock worth $2,342,313 in the last quarter. Insiders own 0.41% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of The PNC Financial Services Group

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in PNC. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of The PNC Financial Services Group during the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,352,151,000. Leigh Baldwin & CO. LLC bought a new stake in shares of The PNC Financial Services Group during the 4th quarter valued at $299,864,000. Schroder Investment Management Group boosted its position in shares of The PNC Financial Services Group by 166.1% in the 4th quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 1,378,675 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $265,436,000 after purchasing an additional 860,554 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its stake in shares of The PNC Financial Services Group by 10.7% during the fourth quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 7,538,310 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,453,763,000 after purchasing an additional 726,115 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its holdings in The PNC Financial Services Group by 22.5% in the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 3,870,548 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $746,435,000 after purchasing an additional 710,311 shares during the last quarter. 83.53% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

The PNC Financial Services Group Company Profile

The PNC Financial Services Group, Inc operates as a diversified financial services company in the United States. It operates through three segments: Retail Banking, Corporate & Institutional Banking, and Asset Management Group segments. The company's Retail Banking segment offers checking, savings, and money market accounts, as well as time deposit; residential mortgages, home equity loans and lines of credit, auto loans, credit cards, education loans, and personal and small business loans and lines of credit; and brokerage, insurance, and investment and cash management services.