StockNews.com Downgrades The PNC Financial Services Group (NYSE:PNC) to Sell

StockNews.com downgraded shares of The PNC Financial Services Group (NYSE:PNC) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a report issued on Friday.

Several other equities analysts have also weighed in on PNC. Jefferies Financial Group cut their target price on shares of The PNC Financial Services Group from $171.00 to $162.00 and set a hold rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 17th. Evercore ISI cut their target price on shares of The PNC Financial Services Group from $184.00 to $175.00 and set an outperform rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 17th. UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of The PNC Financial Services Group from $160.00 to $163.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a report on Thursday, January 18th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of The PNC Financial Services Group from $185.00 to $194.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a report on Thursday, March 28th. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of The PNC Financial Services Group from $142.00 to $158.00 and gave the stock an underweight rating in a report on Tuesday, January 30th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $156.63.

The PNC Financial Services Group Trading Down 0.1 %

NYSE PNC opened at $156.11 on Friday. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $152.76 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $143.22. The company has a market capitalization of $62.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.76 and a beta of 1.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 0.85. The PNC Financial Services Group has a one year low of $109.40 and a one year high of $162.24.

The PNC Financial Services Group (NYSE:PNC) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, April 16th. The financial services provider reported $3.10 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.09 by $0.01. The PNC Financial Services Group had a net margin of 16.05% and a return on equity of 11.64%. The company had revenue of $5.15 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.19 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $3.98 EPS. The PNC Financial Services Group’s revenue for the quarter was down 8.2% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts forecast that The PNC Financial Services Group will post 12.65 EPS for the current fiscal year.

The PNC Financial Services Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, May 5th. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 15th will be given a dividend of $1.55 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 12th. This represents a $6.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.97%. The PNC Financial Services Group’s payout ratio is 52.06%.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Michael J. Hannon sold 3,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $148.82, for a total transaction of $446,460.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 36,570 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,442,347.40. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.42% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Steph & Co. lifted its position in The PNC Financial Services Group by 1.8% in the fourth quarter. Steph & Co. now owns 3,720 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $576,000 after buying an additional 67 shares during the last quarter. Bangor Savings Bank lifted its position in The PNC Financial Services Group by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. Bangor Savings Bank now owns 5,737 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $888,000 after buying an additional 69 shares during the last quarter. Triangle Securities Wealth Management lifted its position in The PNC Financial Services Group by 1.8% in the first quarter. Triangle Securities Wealth Management now owns 4,019 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $649,000 after buying an additional 70 shares during the last quarter. Cooper Financial Group lifted its position in The PNC Financial Services Group by 1.7% in the first quarter. Cooper Financial Group now owns 4,241 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $685,000 after buying an additional 70 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Berkshire Bank lifted its position in The PNC Financial Services Group by 2.0% in the first quarter. Berkshire Bank now owns 3,562 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $576,000 after buying an additional 71 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.53% of the company’s stock.

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.