PennyMac Financial Services (NYSE:PFSI) Cut to Sell at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen lowered shares of PennyMac Financial Services (NYSE:PFSI) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a report issued on Saturday.

Several other research firms have also recently issued reports on PFSI. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded PennyMac Financial Services from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $115.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Monday, March 16th. BTIG Research reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of PennyMac Financial Services in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on PennyMac Financial Services in a research report on Friday, December 19th. They set a “buy” rating and a $160.00 target price on the stock. Zacks Research raised PennyMac Financial Services from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, April 3rd. Finally, Piper Sandler lowered their price target on PennyMac Financial Services from $137.00 to $122.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 2nd. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $131.14.

PennyMac Financial Services Stock Performance

NYSE:PFSI opened at $92.95 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.32, a current ratio of 0.34 and a quick ratio of 0.34. The firm has a market cap of $4.85 billion, a PE ratio of 9.99, a P/E/G ratio of 0.53 and a beta of 1.52. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $89.99 and a 200-day simple moving average of $116.56. PennyMac Financial Services has a 1-year low of $82.65 and a 1-year high of $160.36.

PennyMac Financial Services (NYSE:PFSI) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The real estate investment trust reported $1.97 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.23 by ($1.26). The firm had revenue of $538.01 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $639.81 million. PennyMac Financial Services had a return on equity of 10.20% and a net margin of 24.48%.The firm’s revenue was up 14.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.95 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that PennyMac Financial Services will post 13.77 EPS for the current year.

PennyMac Financial Services Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 26th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 16th were paid a dividend of $0.30 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 13th. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.3%. PennyMac Financial Services’s payout ratio is currently 12.90%.

Insider Transactions at PennyMac Financial Services

In related news, insider Derek Stark sold 1,066 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $87.66, for a total value of $93,445.56. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 20,944 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,835,951.04. This trade represents a 4.84% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Daniel Stanley Perotti sold 2,925 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $93.30, for a total value of $272,902.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 213,550 shares in the company, valued at $19,924,215. This trade represents a 1.35% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 41,280 shares of company stock valued at $3,702,553. Corporate insiders own 15.80% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On PennyMac Financial Services

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of PFSI. Hudson Bay Capital Management LP purchased a new position in PennyMac Financial Services in the third quarter valued at approximately $5,593,000. 140 Summer Partners LP purchased a new stake in PennyMac Financial Services during the third quarter worth approximately $55,268,000. American Century Companies Inc. grew its stake in PennyMac Financial Services by 7.5% during the third quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 429,403 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $53,195,000 after buying an additional 30,015 shares during the period. Picton Mahoney Asset Management increased its position in shares of PennyMac Financial Services by 554.1% in the third quarter. Picton Mahoney Asset Management now owns 28,872 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $3,576,000 after acquiring an additional 24,458 shares in the last quarter. Finally, EMG Holdings L.P. acquired a new stake in shares of PennyMac Financial Services in the third quarter worth $6,458,000. 57.87% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

PennyMac Financial Services Company Profile

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.