Jefferies Financial Group Initiates Coverage on The PNC Financial Services Group (NYSE:PNC)

Research analysts at Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on shares of The PNC Financial Services Group (NYSE:PNC) in a research note issued to investors on Thursday, Marketbeat.com reports. The brokerage set a “buy” rating and a $250.00 price target on the financial services provider’s stock. Jefferies Financial Group’s price objective indicates a potential upside of 23.48% from the stock’s previous close.

A number of other research analysts have also recently weighed in on the company. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of The PNC Financial Services Group in a research report on Monday, December 22nd. Truist Financial increased their price objective on shares of The PNC Financial Services Group from $210.00 to $229.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 18th. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of The PNC Financial Services Group from $235.00 to $271.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, January 5th. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of The PNC Financial Services Group from $211.00 to $221.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 20th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of The PNC Financial Services Group from $252.00 to $264.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 20th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have assigned a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $234.16.

The PNC Financial Services Group Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:PNC opened at $202.46 on Thursday. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $218.90 and its 200-day simple moving average is $205.11. The firm has a market capitalization of $81.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 0.98. 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 PNC Financial Services Group has a 12 month low of $145.12 and a 12 month high of $243.94.

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

Insider Activity

In other The PNC Financial Services Group news, EVP Louis Robert Cestello sold 4,279 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 18,867 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,415,066.67. This represents a 18.49% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO William S. Demchak sold 50,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $230.88, for a total transaction of $11,544,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 554,274 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $127,970,781.12. This represents a 8.27% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 64,186 shares of company stock worth $14,840,973. Company insiders own 0.38% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of The PNC Financial Services Group in the fourth quarter valued at $1,967,080,000. Viking Global Investors LP lifted its position in The PNC Financial Services Group by 234.9% during the third quarter. Viking Global Investors LP now owns 7,956,766 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,598,753,000 after buying an additional 5,581,102 shares during the period. Corient Private Wealth LLC boosted its stake in The PNC Financial Services Group by 961.7% in the 4th quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 2,630,300 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $549,023,000 after buying an additional 2,382,552 shares during the last quarter. Deutsche Bank AG boosted its stake in The PNC Financial Services Group by 108.2% in the 4th quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 3,836,936 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $800,884,000 after buying an additional 1,994,431 shares during the last quarter. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in The PNC Financial Services Group by 134.9% in the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 3,338,964 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $622,450,000 after buying an additional 1,917,530 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.53% of the company’s stock.

Key Stories Impacting The PNC Financial Services Group

Here are the key news stories impacting The PNC Financial Services Group this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Jefferies initiated/expanded coverage and raised its stance—setting a $250 price target and issuing a buy/strong-buy—boosting demand from investors who follow sell-side coverage. Zacks Jefferies Coverage MSN Jefferies Initiates
• Positive Sentiment: Schaeffer’s Weekend Trader flagged PNC as “poised for a relief rally” and circulated a specific options trade idea to subscribers—this type of options flow and positive trading idea can attract short-term traders and provide buying support. Schaeffer’s Article
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst consensus remains constructive—coverage summary shows a “moderate buy” consensus and analysts expect double-digit EPS growth into the next quarter, which supports medium-term fundamentals ahead of earnings. Analyst Consensus Earnings Preview
• Neutral Sentiment: Independent reviews and write-ups are circulating (analyst review sites and banking news) that summarize fundamentals and recent results—useful for retail investors but unlikely to move the stock materially on their own. Review Article
• Negative Sentiment: Oppenheimer trimmed its price target from $284 to $263 while keeping an “outperform” rating; the cut reduces upside expectations versus prior targets and can temper upside momentum even though the rating stayed positive. Benzinga Oppenheimer Note

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.