JPMorgan Chase & Co. Issues Pessimistic Forecast for The PNC Financial Services Group (NYSE:PNC) Stock Price

Key Points

• JPMorgan cut its price target on PNC from $251.00 to $237.50 while maintaining an "overweight" rating, implying about an 11.4% upside from the prior close.
• Analyst consensus remains a "Moderate Buy" with a consensus price target of $237.53 (1 Strong Buy, 14 Buy, 6 Hold), keeping market expectations roughly aligned with JPMorgan's revised target.
• PNC recently beat quarterly estimates (EPS $4.88 vs. $4.23 est.; revenue $6.07B vs. $5.90B est.), but insiders sold roughly $14.8M of stock last quarter while institutional investors own about 83.5% of the shares.

The PNC Financial Services Group (NYSE:PNC - Get Free Report) had its target price cut by research analysts at JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $251.00 to $237.50 in a research note issued on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an "overweight" rating on the financial services provider's stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co.'s price objective points to a potential upside of 11.40% from the company's previous close.

Several other research analysts have also issued reports on the company. Weiss Ratings reissued a "buy (b-)" rating on shares of The PNC Financial Services Group in a research report on Friday, March 27th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on The PNC Financial Services Group from $252.00 to $264.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 20th. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their target price on The PNC Financial Services Group from $222.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 20th. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on The PNC Financial Services Group from $283.00 to $263.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, March 31st. Finally, Oppenheimer decreased their target price on The PNC Financial Services Group from $284.00 to $263.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, March 27th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $237.53.

The PNC Financial Services Group Trading Up 0.0%

NYSE:PNC traded up $0.05 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $213.19. 406,099 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,735,842. The PNC Financial Services Group has a 12-month low of $145.12 and a 12-month high of $243.94. The firm has a market capitalization of $86.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.86, a PEG ratio of 0.95 and a beta of 0.96. 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 50 day moving average price of $217.38 and a 200-day moving average price of $205.42.

The PNC Financial Services Group (NYSE:PNC - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 16th. The financial services provider reported $4.88 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates 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 company had revenue of $6.07 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.90 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $3.77 EPS. The PNC Financial Services Group's revenue was up 9.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts predict that The PNC Financial Services Group will post 15.37 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Richard Kevin Bynum sold 7,407 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $230.98, for a total value of $1,710,868.86. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 1,942 shares in the company, valued at $448,563.16. This represents a 79.23% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Louis Robert Cestello sold 4,279 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 18th. The stock was 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 owned 18,867 shares in the company, valued at $4,415,066.67. The trade was a 18.49% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 64,186 shares of company stock worth $14,840,973. 0.38% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of The PNC Financial Services Group

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of The PNC Financial Services Group by 12.8% during the 3rd quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 57,835 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $11,621,000 after buying an additional 6,572 shares during the period. US Bancorp DE lifted its holdings in shares of The PNC Financial Services Group by 13.4% during the 3rd quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 287,236 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $57,714,000 after buying an additional 34,009 shares during the period. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of The PNC Financial Services Group by 1.2% during the 3rd quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,837,301 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $369,169,000 after buying an additional 22,325 shares during the period. National Pension Service lifted its holdings in shares of The PNC Financial Services Group by 2.5% during the 3rd quarter. National Pension Service now owns 1,070,589 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $215,113,000 after buying an additional 26,305 shares during the period. Finally, Savant Capital LLC lifted its holdings in shares of The PNC Financial Services Group by 8.7% during the 3rd quarter. Savant Capital LLC now owns 87,952 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $17,672,000 after buying an additional 7,064 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.53% of the company's stock.

About The PNC Financial Services Group

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.

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