Short Interest in The PNC Financial Services Group, Inc (NYSE:PNC) Drops By 15.4%

The PNC Financial Services Group, Inc (NYSE:PNC) saw a significant decline in short interest in the month of March. As of March 13th, there was short interest totaling 5,816,350 shares, a decline of 15.4% from the February 26th total of 6,871,334 shares. Approximately 1.4% of the company’s shares are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 2,862,682 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.0 days.

Insider Transactions at The PNC Financial Services Group

In other news, EVP Richard Kevin Bynum sold 7,407 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $230.98, for a total transaction of $1,710,868.86. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 1,942 shares in the company, valued at $448,563.16. This trade represents a 79.23% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Louis Robert Cestello sold 4,279 shares of The PNC Financial Services Group stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $234.01, for a total value of $1,001,328.79. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 18,867 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,415,066.67. The trade was a 18.49% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 64,186 shares of company stock valued at $14,840,973 over the last three months. 0.38% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On The PNC Financial Services Group

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of PNC. Brighton Jones LLC raised its stake in The PNC Financial Services Group by 32.2% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 4,041 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $779,000 after buying an additional 984 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC boosted its position in shares of The PNC Financial Services Group by 2.1% during the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 8,261 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,452,000 after acquiring an additional 170 shares in the last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of The PNC Financial Services Group by 50.3% in the 2nd quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 4,331 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $807,000 after acquiring an additional 1,449 shares during the last quarter. Inceptionr LLC acquired a new stake in shares of The PNC Financial Services Group during the 2nd quarter worth about $209,000. Finally, Elevation Point Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of The PNC Financial Services Group during the 2nd quarter worth about $178,000. 83.53% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have issued reports on PNC. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of The PNC Financial Services Group from $211.00 to $221.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 20th. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on shares of The PNC Financial Services Group in a research note on Thursday, March 26th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $250.00 price objective for the company. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of The PNC Financial Services Group from $235.00 to $271.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, January 5th. TD Cowen upped their target price on shares of The PNC Financial Services Group from $250.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 20th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of The PNC Financial Services Group from $228.50 to $251.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 9th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have given a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $235.94.

The PNC Financial Services Group Price Performance

Shares of NYSE PNC opened at $201.53 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.90, a current ratio of 0.81 and a quick ratio of 0.81. The company has a market cap of $81.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 0.98. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $218.47 and its two-hundred day moving average is $205.16. The PNC Financial Services Group has a 1-year low of $145.12 and a 1-year high of $243.94.

The PNC Financial Services Group (NYSE:PNC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 16th. The financial services provider reported $4.88 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.23 by $0.65. The PNC Financial Services Group had a return on equity of 11.87% and a net margin of 20.40%.The business had revenue of $6.07 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.90 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $3.77 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 9.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts forecast that The PNC Financial Services Group will post 15.37 EPS for the current fiscal year.

The PNC Financial Services Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 5th. Investors of record on Tuesday, January 20th were paid a $1.70 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, January 20th. This represents a $6.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.4%. The PNC Financial Services Group’s payout ratio is currently 40.99%.

The PNC Financial Services Group Company Profile

The PNC Financial Services Group, Inc is a diversified financial services company headquartered in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, offering a broad range of banking, lending, investment and wealth management services. PNC operates a national banking franchise with a significant retail branch network and dedicated capabilities for commercial, institutional and government clients. Its services are designed to serve individuals, small businesses, corporations and public sector entities across the United States.

PNC’s core business activities include consumer and business banking, residential mortgage lending, corporate and institutional banking, asset management and wealth advisory services.