PennyMac Financial Services (NYSE:PFSI) Rating Increased to Strong-Buy at Jefferies Financial Group

PennyMac Financial Services (NYSE:PFSI) was upgraded by investment analysts at Jefferies Financial Group to a “strong-buy” rating in a note issued to investors on Friday,Zacks.com reports.

Several other research analysts have also issued reports on the stock. Piper Sandler lifted their price target on shares of PennyMac Financial Services from $136.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 22nd. BTIG Research reissued a “buy” rating and set a $135.00 price objective on shares of PennyMac Financial Services in a research note on Wednesday, October 22nd. Wall Street Zen cut PennyMac Financial Services from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday. Zacks Research raised PennyMac Financial Services from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, October 6th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on PennyMac Financial Services from $138.00 to $143.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have issued a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $142.43.

PennyMac Financial Services Price Performance

Shares of NYSE PFSI opened at $133.91 on Friday. PennyMac Financial Services has a twelve month low of $85.74 and a twelve month high of $137.53. The company has a current ratio of 0.36, a quick ratio of 0.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.01. The company has a market capitalization of $6.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.43 and a beta of 1.58. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $127.98 and a two-hundred day moving average of $114.06.

PennyMac Financial Services (NYSE:PFSI) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 21st. The real estate investment trust reported $3.37 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.98 by $0.39. PennyMac Financial Services had a net margin of 25.21% and a return on equity of 11.69%. The company had revenue of $632.90 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $573.46 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.30 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 53.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts expect that PennyMac Financial Services will post 13.77 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO David Spector sold 71,161 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $128.07, for a total transaction of $9,113,589.27. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 577,859 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $74,006,402.13. The trade was a 10.96% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Anne Mccallion sold 27,771 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $131.55, for a total value of $3,653,275.05. Following the sale, the director owned 1,547 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $203,507.85. The trade was a 94.72% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 218,129 shares of company stock worth $28,164,517. 15.80% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of PennyMac Financial Services

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Orbis Allan Gray Ltd increased its stake in PennyMac Financial Services by 447.5% in the 1st quarter. Orbis Allan Gray Ltd now owns 926,775 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $92,779,000 after buying an additional 757,489 shares during the period. 140 Summer Partners LP purchased a new position in shares of PennyMac Financial Services during the 3rd quarter valued at $55,268,000. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of PennyMac Financial Services in the second quarter worth $39,976,000. Goldentree Asset Management LP acquired a new position in shares of PennyMac Financial Services in the second quarter worth $29,249,000. Finally, Two Sigma Investments LP raised its holdings in shares of PennyMac Financial Services by 1,148.7% during the third quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 310,919 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $38,517,000 after acquiring an additional 286,019 shares in the last quarter. 57.87% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About PennyMac Financial Services

PennyMac Financial Services, Inc (NYSE: PFSI) is a leading mortgage banking company based in Westlake Village, California. The firm operates through two primary business segments: Production and Mortgage Servicing Rights (MSR). In its Production segment, PennyMac originates residential mortgage loans through retail, wholesale and correspondent channels, focusing on both purchase and refinance transactions. The MSR segment involves the acquisition and servicing of mortgage loans, whereby the company earns fees for managing loan portfolios on behalf of investors.

Since its founding in 2008, PennyMac has grown through a combination of organic origination and strategic acquisition of servicing rights, positioning itself as one of the largest residential mortgage loan servicers in the United States.