PennyMac Financial Services (NYSE:PFSI) Upgraded at Stephens

Key Points

• Stephens upgraded PennyMac to a "hold" and the street remains mixed — the consensus is a Moderate Buy with a $127.25 average price target despite several recent analyst price-target cuts and rating changes.
• The stock trades around $91 (well below its 1‑year high of $160) after a quarter that missed EPS and revenue estimates, and insiders have sold roughly 51,280 shares (~$4.63M) over the past 90 days.

PennyMac Financial Services (NYSE:PFSI - Get Free Report) was upgraded by research analysts at Stephens to a "hold" rating in a note issued to investors on Thursday,Zacks.com reports.

Several other equities research analysts have also issued reports on PFSI. Weiss Ratings lowered PennyMac Financial Services from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 20th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on PennyMac Financial Services from $135.00 to $110.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 9th. Zacks Research upgraded PennyMac Financial Services from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, April 3rd. Barclays cut their price target on PennyMac Financial Services from $136.00 to $116.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 6th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded PennyMac Financial Services from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $115.00 price target for the company in a research note on Monday, March 16th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $127.25.

PennyMac Financial Services Trading Up 1.6%

Shares of PennyMac Financial Services stock opened at $91.27 on Thursday. PennyMac Financial Services has a 1 year low of $82.65 and a 1 year high of $160.36. The firm has a market cap of $4.76 billion, a PE ratio of 9.81, a P/E/G ratio of 0.53 and a beta of 1.52. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $89.65 and a 200-day moving average price of $114.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.32, a current ratio of 0.34 and a quick ratio of 0.34.

PennyMac Financial Services (NYSE:PFSI - Get Free Report) 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 the consensus estimate of $3.23 by ($1.26). PennyMac Financial Services had a net margin of 24.48% and a return on equity of 10.20%. The business had revenue of $538.01 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $639.81 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.95 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 14.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that PennyMac Financial Services will post 11.88 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at PennyMac Financial Services

In other PennyMac Financial Services news, CEO David Spector sold 12,436 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $86.39, for a total value of $1,074,346.04. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 529,401 shares in the company, valued at $45,734,952.39. This trade represents a 2.30% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Daniel Stanley Perotti sold 2,925 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $93.30, for a total value of $272,902.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 213,550 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $19,924,215. This represents a 1.35% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 51,280 shares of company stock worth $4,630,853 over the last 90 days. 15.80% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in PFSI. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in PennyMac Financial Services in the 2nd quarter worth about $26,000. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd boosted its stake in PennyMac Financial Services by 7,600.0% in 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 purchasing an additional 228 shares during the period. Strs Ohio bought a new position in PennyMac Financial Services in the 1st quarter worth about $30,000. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC bought a new position in PennyMac Financial Services in the 4th quarter worth about $31,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in PennyMac Financial Services by 97.3% in the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 288 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 142 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 57.87% of the company's stock.

PennyMac Financial Services Company 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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