The PNC Financial Services Group, Inc. (NYSE:PNC) Sees Large Decline in Short Interest

The PNC Financial Services Group, Inc. (NYSE:PNC) saw a large decrease in short interest in February. As of February 28th, there was short interest totalling 4,170,000 shares, a decrease of 16.8% from the February 13th total of 5,010,000 shares. Currently, 1.1% of the company’s stock are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 2,050,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.0 days.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

PNC has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on The PNC Financial Services Group from $199.00 to $208.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 17th. 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. Citigroup raised their price target on shares of The PNC Financial Services Group from $200.00 to $235.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, November 25th. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price objective on shares of The PNC Financial Services Group from $211.00 to $188.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Piper Sandler boosted their price target on The PNC Financial Services Group from $200.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, The PNC Financial Services Group presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $203.71.

The PNC Financial Services Group Stock Performance

Shares of PNC traded up $0.51 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $173.86. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 3,026,203 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,743,541. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $190.77 and its two-hundred day moving average is $192.43. The firm has a market capitalization of $68.81 billion, a PE ratio of 12.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 1.13. 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 PNC Financial Services Group has a one year low of $143.52 and a one year high of $216.26.

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

The PNC Financial Services Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 5th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, January 15th were issued a $1.60 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, January 15th. This represents a $6.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.68%. The PNC Financial Services Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 46.55%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO William S. Demchak sold 1,242 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, March 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $171.15, for a total transaction of $212,568.30. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 567,299 shares in the company, valued at approximately $97,093,223.85. This trade represents a 0.22 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders sold a total of 13,662 shares of company stock worth $2,604,263 in the last quarter. 0.42% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of The PNC Financial Services Group

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of PNC. Winch Advisory Services LLC bought a new stake in The PNC Financial Services Group in the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Richardson Financial Services Inc. increased its stake in The PNC Financial Services Group by 2,333.3% in the fourth quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. now owns 146 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 140 shares during the period. Albion Financial Group UT acquired a new position in The PNC Financial Services Group in the fourth quarter worth about $30,000. Synergy Asset Management LLC bought a new position in The PNC Financial Services Group during the fourth quarter worth about $32,000. Finally, Rialto Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of The PNC Financial Services Group in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $32,000. 83.53% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About The PNC Financial Services Group

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.