PennyMac Financial Services (NYSE:PFSI) Reaches New 12-Month Low – Time to Sell?

PennyMac Financial Services, Inc. (NYSE:PFSI)’s stock price hit a new 52-week low during mid-day trading on Friday . The company traded as low as $82.65 and last traded at $85.72, with a volume of 5911 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $86.44.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. BTIG Research reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of PennyMac Financial Services in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Barclays decreased their target price on shares of PennyMac Financial Services from $158.00 to $136.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of PennyMac Financial Services from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 20th. Zacks Research cut shares of PennyMac Financial Services from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 3rd. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of PennyMac Financial Services from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, January 18th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $139.71.

PennyMac Financial Services Price Performance

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 has a market capitalization of $4.47 billion, a PE ratio of 9.21, a PEG ratio of 0.49 and a beta of 1.56. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $101.36 and a 200 day moving average price of $119.25.

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 business had revenue of $538.01 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $639.81 million. PennyMac Financial Services had a net margin of 24.48% and a return on equity of 10.20%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 14.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.95 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that PennyMac Financial Services, Inc. will post 13.77 EPS for the current fiscal year.

PennyMac Financial Services Announces Dividend

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

Insider Activity at PennyMac Financial Services

In other news, CFO Daniel Stanley Perotti sold 2,925 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 owned 213,550 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $19,924,215. The trade was a 1.35% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Patrick Kinsella purchased 2,250 shares of PennyMac Financial Services stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 12th. The shares were bought at an average price of $89.15 per share, with a total value of $200,587.50. Following the transaction, the director owned 34,210 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,049,821.50. The trade was a 7.04% increase in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. Insiders have sold 51,280 shares of company stock worth $5,154,453 in the last ninety days. 15.80% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On PennyMac Financial Services

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in PFSI. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd lifted its position in shares of PennyMac Financial Services by 7,600.0% in the fourth quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 231 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 228 shares in the last quarter. Virtu Financial LLC purchased a new stake in shares of PennyMac Financial Services during the fourth quarter worth approximately $379,000. Invesco Ltd. raised its stake in PennyMac Financial Services by 7.3% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,569,184 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $206,881,000 after purchasing an additional 106,088 shares during the last quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV raised its stake in PennyMac Financial Services by 5.2% in the 4th quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 10,167 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $1,340,000 after purchasing an additional 504 shares during the last quarter. Finally, XTX Topco Ltd purchased a new position in PennyMac Financial Services in the 4th quarter valued at $479,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.87% of the company’s stock.

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.