Short Interest in The PNC Financial Services Group, Inc. (NYSE:PNC) Increases By 19.1%

The PNC Financial Services Group, Inc. (NYSE:PNC - Get Free Report) was the target of a large increase in short interest in the month of January. As of January 15th, there was short interest totalling 5,480,000 shares, an increase of 19.1% from the December 31st total of 4,600,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 2,030,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.7 days. Approximately 1.4% of the company's shares are short sold.

The PNC Financial Services Group Stock Up 1.8 %

PNC stock traded up $3.48 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $202.37. 1,593,742 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,362,210. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $198.93 and a 200 day simple moving average of $190.20. The company has a market capitalization of $80.30 billion, a PE ratio of 14.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 1.16. The PNC Financial Services Group has a twelve month low of $139.69 and a twelve month high of $216.26. The company has a current ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13.

The PNC Financial Services Group (NYSE:PNC - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 16th. The financial services provider reported $3.77 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.26 by $0.51. The firm 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 firm's revenue for the quarter was up 3.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $3.16 earnings per share. On average, research analysts forecast that The PNC Financial Services Group will post 15.26 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

The PNC Financial Services Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 5th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, January 15th were paid a $1.60 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, January 15th. This represents a $6.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.16%. The PNC Financial Services Group's payout ratio is currently 46.55%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have weighed in on PNC. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of The PNC Financial Services Group from $215.00 to $235.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Stephens reaffirmed an "equal weight" rating and set a $200.00 price target on shares of The PNC Financial Services Group in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Barclays increased their price target on The PNC Financial Services Group from $229.00 to $257.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, January 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on The PNC Financial Services Group from $190.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Finally, Piper Sandler increased their target price on The PNC Financial Services Group from $200.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 3rd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, The PNC Financial Services Group has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $205.00.

Insider Transactions at The PNC Financial Services Group

In other The PNC Financial Services Group news, Director Andrew T. Feldstein sold 14,509 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $210.09, for a total transaction of $3,048,195.81. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 38,649 shares in the company, valued at $8,119,768.41. This represents a 27.29 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO William S. Demchak sold 1,242 shares of The PNC Financial Services Group stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $208.12, for a total value of $258,485.04. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 536,249 shares in the company, valued at $111,604,141.88. This represents a 0.23 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 29,413 shares of company stock worth $6,037,230 in the last three months. Company insiders own 0.42% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On The PNC Financial Services Group

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Winch Advisory Services LLC bought a new position in shares of The PNC Financial Services Group in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Richardson Financial Services Inc. boosted its stake in shares of The PNC Financial Services Group by 2,333.3% during the 4th quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. now owns 146 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 140 shares in the last quarter. Albion Financial Group UT acquired a new position in shares of The PNC Financial Services Group in the 4th quarter worth $30,000. Synergy Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of The PNC Financial Services Group during the fourth quarter worth $32,000. Finally, Whipplewood Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in The PNC Financial Services Group during the 4th quarter worth about $33,000. Institutional investors 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.