The PNC Financial Services Group, Inc. (PNC) is getting ready to show its cards. The Pittsburgh-based banking giant will report fourth-quarter earnings before the market opens on Friday, January 16, and Wall Street is feeling optimistic.
Analysts are expecting earnings of $4.21 per share for the quarter, a solid jump from the $3.77 per share PNC posted in the same period last year. The consensus revenue estimate sits at $5.95 billion, compared to $5.57 billion a year ago.
The bank also made shareholders happy earlier this month, declaring a $1.70 dividend on common stock on January 5. Meanwhile, shares edged down just 0.1% on Wednesday, closing at $212.32.
What the Top Analysts Are Saying
Here's where it gets interesting: some of Wall Street's most accurate analysts have been busy raising their price targets on PNC in recent weeks. Let's break down what the forecasters are thinking.
TD Cowen analyst Steven Alexopoulos kept his Buy rating and bumped his price target from $235 to $250 on January 7. Alexopoulos has a 67% accuracy rate in his calls.
Barclays analyst Jason Goldberg went even bigger, maintaining an Overweight rating while lifting his target from $235 all the way to $271 on January 5. Goldberg's track record shows a 62% accuracy rate.
Truist Securities analyst John McDonald took a more cautious stance, sticking with a Hold rating but still raising his price target from $210 to $229 on December 18. McDonald boasts an impressive 78% accuracy rate.
Keefe, Bruyette & Woods analyst David Konrad maintained a Market Perform rating and increased his target from $215 to $228 on December 17. Konrad has been accurate 79% of the time.
Finally, Oppenheimer analyst Chris Kotowski kept his Outperform rating and raised his price target from $231 to $240 on November 19. Kotowski has the highest accuracy rate of the bunch at 83%.
The pattern is clear: even analysts with different ratings on the stock are raising their price targets. That suggests growing confidence in PNC's trajectory, regardless of whether they're telling clients to buy, hold, or just perform with the market.