Should You Avoid PNC Financial Services Group (PNC)?

Is PNC Financial Services Group (NYSE:PNC) a good stock to buy right now? We at Insider Monkey like to examine what billionaires and hedge funds think of a company before doing days of research on it. Given their 2 and 20 payment structure, hedge funds have more resources than the average investor. The funds have access to expert networks and get tips from industry insiders. They also have numerous Ivy League graduates and MBAs. Like everyone else, hedge funds perform miserably at times, but their consensus picks have historically outperformed the market after risk adjustments.

PNC Financial Services Group (NYSE:PNC) has seen a decrease in activity from the world’s largest hedge funds of late. At the end of this article, we will also compare PNC Financial Services Group (NYSE:PNC) to other stocks, including Canadian National Railway (USA) (NYSE:CNI), General Dynamics Corporation (NYSE:GD), and NextEra Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NEE) to get a better sense of its popularity.

Today, there are a lot of gauges market participants employ to value their stock investments. Some of the best gauges are hedge fund and insider trading sentiment. We have shown that, historically, those who follow the top picks of the elite investment managers can outclass their index-focused peers by a solid amount (see the details here).

Now, we’re going to take a peek at the latest action regarding PNC Financial Services Group (NYSE:PNC).

Hedge fund activity in PNC Financial Services Group (NYSE:PNC)

At the end of Q3, a total of 33 of the hedge funds tracked by Insider Monkey were bullish on this stock, a decline of 8% from the previous quarter. With hedge funds’ positions undergoing their usual ebb and flow, there exists an “upper tier” of key hedge fund managers who were increasing their stakes considerably (or already accumulated large positions).

When looking at the institutional investors followed by Insider Monkey, AQR Capital Management, managed by Cliff Asness, holds the most valuable position in PNC Financial Services (NYSE:PNC). AQR Capital Management has a $342.3 million position in the stock, comprising 0.7% of its 13F portfolio. The second largest stake is held by Pzena Investment Management, managed by Richard S. Pzena, which holds a $253.6 million position; 1.6% of its 13F portfolio is allocated to the company. Some other peers with similar optimism consist of Mario Gabelli’s GAMCO Investors, Phill Gross and Robert Atchinson’s Adage Capital Management, and Martin Whitman’s Third Avenue Management.