PNC Financial Rewards Shareholders With 21% Dividend Hike

As part of its 2019 capital plan (approved by the Federal Reserve), The PNC Financial (NYSE:PNC) board of directors has announced a 21% hike in the company’s quarterly common stock dividend. The revised quarterly dividend is $1.15 per share compared with the previous figure of 95 cents. This dividend will be paid on Aug 5 to shareholders of record as of Jul 19, 2019.

Since 2011, PNC Financial has been raising its dividend annually. From paying 10 cents a share as quarterly dividend during the financial crisis, the company has come a long way in terms of its capital strength. Prior to this hike, the company had raised its dividend by 27% (from 75 cents to 95 cents per share) in July 2018.

Considering Tuesday’s closing price of $140.79 per share, the dividend yield is currently valued at 3.27%.

Investors interested in this Zacks Rank #3 (Hold) stock can have a look at the bank’s fundamentals and growth opportunities. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

Revenue Growth: PNC Financial continues to make steady progress toward improving its top line. Rise in rates aided interest income growth. The company's fee income witnessed a five-year CAGR (2014-2018) of 2%, with the increasing trend continuing in first-quarter 2019.

The company’s projected sales growth (F1/F0) of 3.05% indicates constant upward momentum in revenues.

Earnings Per Share Strength: PNC Financial witnessed earnings growth of 8.96% over the last three-five years. In addition, the company’s long-term (three-five years) estimated EPS growth rate of 7.57% promises rewards for investors over the long run. Further, earnings are anticipated to display an upswing in the near term with the company’s projected EPS growth (F1/F0) of 5.86%. Also, PNC Financial recorded an average positive earnings surprise of 2.2%, over the trailing four quarters.

Stock is Undervalued: The stock currently has a Value Score of B. The Value Score condenses all valuation metrics into one actionable score that helps investors steer clear of “value traps” and identify stocks that are truly trading at a discount.

Share Price Movement: PNC Financial’s shares have gained 17.28% in the past six months compared with 10.2% growth recorded by the industry.

Some other finance stocks which raised their dividends during the past three months include Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB) , Glacier Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:GBCI) and Bank OZK (NASDAQ:OZK) . Fifth Third raised its quarterly dividend by 9%, while Glacier Bancorp increased by 3.8%. Bank OZK has also announced a 4.35% rise in its common stock dividend.

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