PennyMac Mortgage Investment Trust (NYSE:PMT) Stock Sees Unusually High Put Option Buying

Key Points

• Unusual bearish options activity: Investors bought 8,282 put options on PennyMac Mortgage Investment Trust, more than 20 times its typical volume of 390 contracts.
• Analyst sentiment remains mixed: PMT has a consensus “Hold” rating from analysts, with an average price target of $10.92, while recent firms have both upgraded the stock and lowered price targets.
• Shares and fundamentals weakened: PMT traded near $6.93, close to its 52-week low, after missing quarterly EPS and revenue estimates. The company announced a $0.40 quarterly dividend, implying a 23.1% annualized yield, though its payout ratio exceeds 100%.

PennyMac Mortgage Investment Trust (NYSE:PMT - Get Free Report) saw some unusual options trading activity on Friday. Investors acquired 8,282 put options on the stock. This represents an increase of 2,024% compared to the typical volume of 390 put options.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

PMT has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Weiss Ratings downgraded PennyMac Mortgage Investment Trust from a "sell (d+)" rating to a "sell (d)" rating in a report on Thursday, October 8th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded shares of PennyMac Mortgage Investment Trust from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $12.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Saturday, August 15th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on PennyMac Mortgage Investment Trust from $12.00 to $10.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, July 31st. Citizens Jmp reduced their price target on PennyMac Mortgage Investment Trust from $15.00 to $12.50 and set a "market outperform" rating for the company in a report on Thursday. Finally, UBS Group reduced their target price on PennyMac Mortgage Investment Trust from $11.25 to $10.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, August 21st. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, PennyMac Mortgage Investment Trust has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $10.92.

PennyMac Mortgage Investment Trust Price Performance

Shares of PMT traded down $0.12 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $6.93. 1,192,494 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,439,936. The stock has a market cap of $604.73 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 4.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.39 and a beta of 1.20. PennyMac Mortgage Investment Trust has a 1-year low of $6.80 and a 1-year high of $13.81. The company has a 50 day moving average of $8.80 and a 200-day moving average of $10.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 9.18, a quick ratio of 1.46 and a current ratio of 1.46.

PennyMac Mortgage Investment Trust (NYSE:PMT - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 29th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.30 by ($0.07). PennyMac Mortgage Investment Trust had a return on equity of 12.50% and a net margin of 47.79%. The firm had revenue of ($46.00) million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $93.93 million. Analysts expect that PennyMac Mortgage Investment Trust will post 1.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

PennyMac Mortgage Investment Trust Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 23rd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 8th will be issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, October 8th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 23.1%. PennyMac Mortgage Investment Trust's dividend payout ratio is presently 112.68%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On PennyMac Mortgage Investment Trust

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Bessemer Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of PennyMac Mortgage Investment Trust by 142.1% during the 1st quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 2,189 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 1,285 shares during the period. Allworth Financial LP purchased a new stake in shares of PennyMac Mortgage Investment Trust in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Nykredit A S purchased a new position in PennyMac Mortgage Investment Trust in the second quarter worth approximately $37,000. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio purchased a new stake in PennyMac Mortgage Investment Trust in the second quarter valued at $38,000. Finally, State of Wyoming purchased a new stake in PennyMac Mortgage Investment Trust in the 1st quarter valued at about $67,000. 67.38% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

PennyMac Mortgage Investment Trust Company Profile

PennyMac Mortgage Investment Trust NYSE: PMT is a mortgage real estate investment trust that invests primarily in residential mortgage-related assets. The company seeks to generate income through investments in mortgage loans, mortgage servicing rights, mortgage-backed securities and other credit-sensitive assets tied to the U.S. housing market.

PennyMac's activities include acquiring and managing newly originated and seasoned residential mortgage loans, investing in mortgage servicing rights and related financing arrangements, and participating in correspondent production activities.

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