Helix Partners Management LP Takes $6.91 Million Position in PennyMac Financial Services, Inc. $PFSI

Key Points

• Helix Partners Management LP initiated a new stake in PennyMac Financial Services, buying 79,000 shares worth about $6.91 million. The position makes PFSI its 5th largest holding and about 1.8% of its portfolio.
• Insiders have been selling shares, including CEO David Spector and CAO Gregory L. Hendry, with total insider sales of 18,045 shares worth about $1.57 million over the last 90 days.
• Analyst sentiment has softened, with several firms cutting ratings or price targets; the stock currently has a consensus Hold rating and an average price target of $114.62.

Helix Partners Management LP bought a new position in shares of PennyMac Financial Services, Inc. (NYSE:PFSI - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 79,000 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock, valued at approximately $6,905,000. PennyMac Financial Services accounts for 1.8% of Helix Partners Management LP's investment portfolio, making the stock its 5th largest position. Helix Partners Management LP owned 0.15% of PennyMac Financial Services as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of PFSI. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. increased its holdings in PennyMac Financial Services by 0.7% during the 2nd quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 16,034 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $1,598,000 after purchasing an additional 111 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in PennyMac Financial Services by 97.3% during the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 288 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 142 shares during the last quarter. Sei Investments Co. lifted its holdings in PennyMac Financial Services by 0.7% in the 3rd quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 22,145 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $2,743,000 after buying an additional 146 shares during the period. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co lifted its holdings in PennyMac Financial Services by 1.0% in the 3rd quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co now owns 16,236 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $2,026,000 after buying an additional 163 shares during the period. Finally, Cerity Partners LLC grew its position in shares of PennyMac Financial Services by 7.3% in the 4th quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 2,399 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $316,000 after buying an additional 164 shares during the last quarter. 57.87% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other PennyMac Financial Services news, CEO David Spector sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $87.99, for a total value of $879,900.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 60,604 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,332,545.96. This represents a 14.16% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CAO Gregory L. Hendry sold 2,177 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $86.89, for a total value of $189,159.53. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 48,968 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,254,829.52. This trade represents a 4.26% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold a total of 18,045 shares of company stock valued at $1,565,470 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 15.80% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. BTIG Research reduced their target price on PennyMac Financial Services from $150.00 to $105.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, June 16th. Zacks Research lowered PennyMac Financial Services from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Stephens initiated coverage on shares of PennyMac Financial Services in a report on Friday, April 24th. They issued an "equal weight" rating and a $100.00 price target on the stock. Weiss Ratings cut shares of PennyMac Financial Services from a "hold (c-)" rating to a "sell (d+)" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. Finally, Barclays downgraded shares of PennyMac Financial Services from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and reduced their price objective for the company from $107.00 to $93.00 in a research report on Tuesday, July 7th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $114.62.

PennyMac Financial Services Stock Performance

PennyMac Financial Services stock opened at $84.29 on Friday. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $83.53 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $95.46. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.63, a quick ratio of 0.33 and a current ratio of 0.33. The stock has a market cap of $4.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.96, a PEG ratio of 0.59 and a beta of 1.44. PennyMac Financial Services, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $77.67 and a fifty-two week high of $160.36.

PennyMac Financial Services (NYSE:PFSI - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The real estate investment trust reported $2.19 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.22 by ($0.03). PennyMac Financial Services had a return on equity of 10.93% and a net margin of 23.47%.The firm had revenue of $544.98 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $546.17 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.42 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 26.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts expect that PennyMac Financial Services, Inc. will post 9.77 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

PennyMac Financial Services Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 28th. Investors of record on Monday, May 18th were paid a $0.30 dividend. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 18th. PennyMac Financial Services's dividend payout ratio is presently 12.75%.

PennyMac Financial Services 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.

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