PennyMac Financial Services, Inc. (NYSE:PFSI) Receives Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

PennyMac Financial Services, Inc. (NYSE:PFSI) has earned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the nine analysts that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, two have issued a hold recommendation and six have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month price objective among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $139.7143.

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on PFSI shares. Weiss Ratings downgraded PennyMac Financial Services from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 20th. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on PennyMac Financial Services in a report on Friday, December 19th. They set a “buy” rating and a $160.00 price objective on the stock. BTIG Research reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of PennyMac Financial Services in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Piper Sandler reduced their target price on PennyMac Financial Services from $168.00 to $137.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 30th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on shares of PennyMac Financial Services from $150.00 to $135.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 30th.

PennyMac Financial Services Stock Down 4.2%

Shares of NYSE:PFSI opened at $84.36 on Friday. PennyMac Financial Services has a fifty-two week low of $83.56 and a fifty-two week high of $160.36. The company has a quick ratio of 0.34, a current ratio of 0.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.32. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $107.79 and its 200-day simple moving average is $120.29. The company has a market cap of $4.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.07, a PEG ratio of 0.50 and a beta of 1.56.

PennyMac Financial Services (NYSE:PFSI) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The real estate investment trust reported $1.97 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.23 by ($1.26). PennyMac Financial Services had a return on equity of 10.20% and a net margin of 24.48%.The firm had revenue of $538.01 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $639.81 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.95 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 14.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts predict that PennyMac Financial Services will post 13.77 earnings per share for the current year.

PennyMac Financial Services Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 26th. Investors of record on Monday, February 16th were paid a $0.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 13th. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.4%. PennyMac Financial Services’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 12.90%.

Insider Activity at PennyMac Financial Services

In other news, CFO Daniel Stanley Perotti sold 2,925 shares of PennyMac Financial Services stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $93.30, for a total transaction of $272,902.50. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 213,550 shares in the company, valued at approximately $19,924,215. This trade represents a 1.35% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO David Spector sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $86.39, for a total value of $863,900.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 80,604 shares in the company, valued at $6,963,379.56. This trade represents a 11.04% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 51,280 shares of company stock worth $5,154,453 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 15.80% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On PennyMac Financial Services

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. 140 Summer Partners LP acquired a new position in PennyMac Financial Services during the third quarter worth $55,268,000. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of PennyMac Financial Services in the second quarter valued at $39,976,000. Goldentree Asset Management LP purchased a new position in shares of PennyMac Financial Services in the second quarter valued at $29,249,000. Two Sigma Investments LP raised its stake in shares of PennyMac Financial Services by 1,148.7% during the 3rd quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 310,919 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $38,517,000 after buying an additional 286,019 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Holocene Advisors LP raised its stake in shares of PennyMac Financial Services by 2,379.5% during the 3rd quarter. Holocene Advisors LP now owns 245,268 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $30,384,000 after buying an additional 235,376 shares during the last quarter. 57.87% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.