Dividend Contenders List: Top 20 Stocks

15. The PNC Financial Services Group, Inc. (NYSE:PNC)

Dividend Yield as of January 22: 3.02%

On January 20, Oppenheimer raised its price target on The PNC Financial Services Group, Inc. (NYSE:PNC) to $284 from $268 and kept an Outperform rating on the shares. The firm said PNC ended 2025 on a strong note, and management pointed to several organic tailwinds it expects to carry into 2026. Oppenheimer also highlighted the added boost from PNC’s January acquisition of FirstBank. The firm reiterated that it continues to favor commercial banks over investment banks.

PNC’s fourth-quarter profit also came in above analysts’ expectations, helped by improving conditions in capital markets. The rebound in dealmaking supported results and helped push the stock to a four-year high.

Deal activity picked up sharply across the market in 2025. Global M&A climbed past $5 trillion for the year, marking the second-biggest year on record. Looser US antitrust scrutiny and strong equity markets helped drive a wave of large transactions.PNC benefited from that shift. Its quarterly capital markets and advisory revenue jumped 41% to $489 million, supported by stronger M&A activity. During the quarter, PNC’s Harris Williams advised TRC, a Warburg Pincus portfolio company, on its $3.3 billion sale to Canadian engineering firm WSP Global.

The bank also posted stronger net interest income. NII, which reflects the spread between what PNC earns on loans and pays on deposits, rose 6% to a record $3.73 billion. Loan growth and lower deposit costs helped support the increase, and the bank has also been benefiting from the repricing of fixed-rate assets.

Analysts described PNC’s results as solid, pointing to strong momentum in capital markets and expectations for faster share buybacks.

The PNC Financial Services Group, Inc. (NYSE:PNC) is a diversified US financial services company.