Jefferies Financial Group Initiates Coverage on PennyMac Financial Services (NYSE:PFSI)

Investment analysts at Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on shares of PennyMac Financial Services (NYSE:PFSI) in a note issued to investors on Friday, Marketbeat Ratings reports. The firm set a “buy” rating and a $160.00 price target on the real estate investment trust’s stock. Jefferies Financial Group’s target price suggests a potential upside of 19.48% from the company’s current price.

PFSI has been the topic of several other research reports. Zacks Research upgraded shares of PennyMac Financial Services from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, October 6th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of PennyMac Financial Services from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of PennyMac Financial Services from $115.00 to $135.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 22nd. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of PennyMac Financial Services from $136.00 to $139.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 22nd. Finally, Piper Sandler boosted their target price on PennyMac Financial Services from $136.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 22nd. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $142.43.

PennyMac Financial Services Trading Up 1.1%

PFSI stock opened at $133.91 on Friday. PennyMac Financial Services has a 1-year low of $85.74 and a 1-year 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 business’s 50 day moving average is $127.98 and its 200-day moving average is $114.19. The firm has a market cap of $6.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.43 and a beta of 1.58.

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

Insider Buying and Selling at PennyMac Financial Services

In related news, CEO David Spector sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $129.81, for a total value of $649,050.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 110,604 shares in the company, valued at $14,357,505.24. This represents a 4.33% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO Daniel Stanley Perotti sold 8,775 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $126.67, for a total transaction of $1,111,529.25. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 216,475 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $27,420,888.25. The trade was a 3.90% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 218,129 shares of company stock valued at $28,164,517 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 15.80% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On PennyMac Financial Services

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of PFSI. Invesco Ltd. boosted its position in shares of PennyMac Financial Services by 18.3% during the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,463,096 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $181,248,000 after purchasing an additional 226,581 shares in the last quarter. Orbis Allan Gray Ltd raised its stake in PennyMac Financial Services by 447.5% during the 1st quarter. Orbis Allan Gray Ltd now owns 926,775 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $92,779,000 after buying an additional 757,489 shares during the period. Millennium Management LLC lifted its holdings in PennyMac Financial Services by 48.8% during the first quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 771,605 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $77,245,000 after acquiring an additional 253,031 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in PennyMac Financial Services by 6.0% during the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 721,757 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $71,924,000 after acquiring an additional 41,124 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Basswood Capital Management L.L.C. grew its stake in PennyMac Financial Services by 5.9% in the second quarter. Basswood Capital Management L.L.C. now owns 570,210 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $56,816,000 after acquiring an additional 31,743 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 57.87% of the company’s stock.

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.