UPDATE: Nomura Equity Research Initiates Coverage on PNC Financial Services with Buy Rating, $72 PT

In a report published Wednesday, Nomura Equity Research initiated coverage on PNC Financial Services

with a Buy rating and $72.00 price target. Nomura Equity Research noted, “Initiate with a Buy rating. PNC has evolved into a top 10 U.S. bank (by assets and deposits) through a combination of key acquisitions (e.g., National City in 2008) and organic growth. We expect PNC‟s core franchise to perform well in 2013, as loan growth and solid fee revenue lead to a modest increase in revenue. In addition, we expect PNC to post 700bps of positive operating leverage, as some of the expense noise from 2012 (e.g., integration costs) shrinks or goes away, and we expect PNC to reach its 8.0-8.5% Basel III T1C target by the end of 2013. The stock trades at a discount to the group on both a P/B and P/E basis, and we do not think investors have baked in high expectations.” PNC Financial Services closed on Tuesday at $62.49.