PennyMac Financial Services, Inc. (NYSE:PFSI) Receives Consensus Recommendation of "Hold" from Analysts

Key Points

• Analysts hold a neutral view: Ten brokerages give PennyMac Financial Services an average “Hold” rating, with four buys, four holds, and two sells. The average 12-month price target is $104.88.
• Recent earnings missed expectations: PennyMac reported quarterly EPS of $1.39, below the $2.11 consensus estimate, although revenue increased 11.8% year over year.
• Shares have declined significantly: PFSI opened at $70.43, near its 12-month low of $69.12 and well below its 12-month high of $160.36. The company also declared a quarterly dividend of $0.30 per share, representing a 1.7% yield.

PennyMac Financial Services, Inc. (NYSE:PFSI - Get Free Report) has received an average recommendation of "Hold" from the ten brokerages that are covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, four have given a hold recommendation and four have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year price target among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $104.8750.

Several brokerages have issued reports on PFSI. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on PennyMac Financial Services from $100.00 to $95.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "sell (d+)" rating on shares of PennyMac Financial Services in a report on Monday, August 3rd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price objective on shares of PennyMac Financial Services from $108.00 to $100.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, July 31st. BTIG Research dropped their price objective on shares of PennyMac Financial Services from $105.00 to $90.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut shares of PennyMac Financial Services from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Saturday, August 1st.

Insider Transactions at PennyMac Financial Services

In other news, CAO Gregory Hendry sold 2,177 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $86.89, for a total transaction of $189,159.53. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 48,968 shares in the company, valued at $4,254,829.52. The trade was a 4.26% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 15.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On PennyMac Financial Services

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd increased its position in PennyMac Financial Services by 7,600.0% during the 4th quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 231 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 228 shares during the period. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of PennyMac Financial Services during the fourth quarter worth $31,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of PennyMac Financial Services in the second quarter valued at about $26,000. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of PennyMac Financial Services in the second quarter valued at about $25,000. Finally, Strs Ohio acquired a new position in shares of PennyMac Financial Services in the first quarter valued at about $30,000. Institutional investors own 57.87% of the company's stock.

PennyMac Financial Services Price Performance

Shares of NYSE PFSI opened at $70.43 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.38, a current ratio of 0.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.22. The business's 50 day moving average price is $77.95 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $83.84. The company has a market cap of $3.66 billion, a PE ratio of 9.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.66 and a beta of 1.44. PennyMac Financial Services has a twelve month low of $69.12 and a twelve month high of $160.36.

PennyMac Financial Services (NYSE:PFSI - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 29th. The real estate investment trust reported $1.39 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $2.11 by ($0.72). PennyMac Financial Services had a net margin of 17.74% and a return on equity of 11.18%. PennyMac Financial Services's revenue for the quarter was up 11.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.54 earnings per share. On average, analysts predict that PennyMac Financial Services will post 7.36 EPS for the current year.

PennyMac Financial Services Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 27th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 17th were issued a $0.30 dividend. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 17th. PennyMac Financial Services's dividend payout ratio is currently 16.48%.

About PennyMac Financial Services

PennyMac Financial Services, Inc NYSE: PFSI is a mortgage banking company that provides a range of residential lending and loan servicing services in the United States. The company operates through its subsidiaries and focuses primarily on the production and servicing of conventional and government-insured residential mortgage loans.

PennyMac's loan production business acquires, originates and refinances mortgage loans through correspondent, broker-direct and consumer-direct channels.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.