PennyMac Financial Services, Inc. (NYSE:PFSI) Receives Average Recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from Analysts

Key Points

• PennyMac Financial Services has an average analyst rating of "Moderate Buy", with one hold rating and five buy ratings among six research firms.
• The company's recent earnings report showed a miss in expected earnings per share, posting $1.02 versus the consensus estimate of $3.01.
• Insider trading activity includes CEO David Spector selling 5,000 shares and Director Joseph F. Mazzella selling 7,107 shares, indicating a decrease in their ownership stakes in the company.

PennyMac Financial Services, Inc. (NYSE:PFSI - Get Free Report) has earned a consensus recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from the six brokerages that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month price objective among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $119.3333.

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on PFSI shares. UBS Group decreased their price target on PennyMac Financial Services from $115.00 to $110.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. Piper Sandler dropped their target price on PennyMac Financial Services from $125.00 to $121.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Barclays lowered their price objective on PennyMac Financial Services from $124.00 to $119.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. Wells Fargo & Company assumed coverage on PennyMac Financial Services in a research report on Monday, August 25th. They set an "overweight" rating and a $115.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on PennyMac Financial Services from $117.00 to $121.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO David Spector sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, August 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $105.73, for a total value of $528,650.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 130,604 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $13,808,760.92. This trade represents a 3.69% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Joseph F. Mazzella sold 7,107 shares of PennyMac Financial Services stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $108.16, for a total value of $768,693.12. Following the sale, the director directly owned 86,050 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,307,168. This trade represents a 7.63% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 32,707 shares of company stock worth $3,446,223 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 15.80% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On PennyMac Financial Services

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in PennyMac Financial Services by 12,101.0% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 11,713 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $1,173,000 after purchasing an additional 11,617 shares in the last quarter. Lightrock Netherlands B.V. raised its holdings in PennyMac Financial Services by 55.1% in the first quarter. Lightrock Netherlands B.V. now owns 136,055 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $13,643,000 after purchasing an additional 48,312 shares in the last quarter. Advantage Alpha Capital Partners LP increased its holdings in PennyMac Financial Services by 26.3% in the 1st quarter. Advantage Alpha Capital Partners LP now owns 55,376 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $5,544,000 after buying an additional 11,528 shares during the period. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in PennyMac Financial Services by 0.6% in the 1st quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 4,289,819 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $429,454,000 after purchasing an additional 24,055 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nuveen LLC acquired a new stake in shares of PennyMac Financial Services in the 1st quarter worth $10,550,000. Institutional investors own 57.87% of the company's stock.

PennyMac Financial Services Trading Up 3.2%

Shares of NYSE PFSI traded up $3.45 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $112.78. The company's stock had a trading volume of 467,070 shares, compared to its average volume of 351,516. The stock has a market cap of $5.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.64 and a beta of 1.51. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $102.06 and its 200-day simple moving average is $99.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.03, a current ratio of 0.34 and a quick ratio of 0.34. PennyMac Financial Services has a one year low of $85.74 and a one year high of $119.13.

PennyMac Financial Services (NYSE:PFSI - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, July 22nd. The real estate investment trust reported $1.02 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.01 by ($1.99). The firm had revenue of $444.73 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $547.44 million. PennyMac Financial Services had a net margin of 22.00% and a return on equity of 12.18%. PennyMac Financial Services's quarterly revenue was up 9.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.85 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that PennyMac Financial Services will post 13.77 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

PennyMac Financial Services Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 22nd. Investors of record on Wednesday, August 13th were given a $0.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, August 13th. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.1%. PennyMac Financial Services's dividend payout ratio is 16.64%.

PennyMac Financial Services Company Profile

PennyMac Financial Services, Inc, through its subsidiaries, engages in the mortgage banking and investment management activities in the United States. The company operates through three segments: Production, Servicing, and Investment Management. The Production segment is involved in the origination, acquisition, and sale of loans.