Traders Purchase Large Volume of PennyMac Mortgage Investment Trust Put Options (NYSE:PMT)

Key Points

• Traders have significantly increased their activity with PennyMac Mortgage Investment Trust, purchasing 2,507 put options, marking a 578% increase in volume compared to the average daily trading.
• Multiple analysts have downgraded their price targets for PennyMac, with Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reducing it from $14.50 to $13.50 and Wells Fargo lowering it from $14.00 to $13.00.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.40, resulting in an annualized yield of 13.3%, despite experiencing a recent earnings miss with an EPS of ($0.04).

PennyMac Mortgage Investment Trust (NYSE:PMT - Get Free Report) was the target of unusually large options trading activity on Tuesday. Investors bought 2,507 put options on the stock. Thisrepresentsanincreaseofapproximately578% compared to the typical daily volume of 370 put options.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on PMT. Jones Trading restated a "hold" rating on shares of PennyMac Mortgage Investment Trust in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods downgraded shares of PennyMac Mortgage Investment Trust from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating and reduced their target price for the stock from $14.50 to $13.50 in a report on Friday, July 25th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on shares of PennyMac Mortgage Investment Trust from $14.00 to $13.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, UBS Group reduced their target price on shares of PennyMac Mortgage Investment Trust from $13.25 to $13.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $14.00.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On PennyMac Mortgage Investment Trust

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in PMT. Signaturefd LLC lifted its position in shares of PennyMac Mortgage Investment Trust by 53.8% in the 2nd quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 2,486 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 870 shares during the period. Maridea Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in shares of PennyMac Mortgage Investment Trust by 2.7% in the 2nd quarter. Maridea Wealth Management LLC now owns 41,578 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $535,000 after purchasing an additional 1,085 shares during the period. Motiv8 Investments LLC lifted its position in shares of PennyMac Mortgage Investment Trust by 13.1% in the 1st quarter. Motiv8 Investments LLC now owns 11,547 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $169,000 after purchasing an additional 1,333 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its position in shares of PennyMac Mortgage Investment Trust by 204.0% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,031 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 1,363 shares during the period. Finally, Intech Investment Management LLC lifted its position in shares of PennyMac Mortgage Investment Trust by 1.3% in the 1st quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 109,272 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $1,601,000 after purchasing an additional 1,411 shares during the period. 67.38% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

PennyMac Mortgage Investment Trust Trading Down 0.4%

NYSE:PMT traded down $0.05 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $12.08. 92,419 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 835,401. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.79, a PEG ratio of 1.53 and a beta of 1.22. PennyMac Mortgage Investment Trust has a 52 week low of $11.70 and a 52 week high of $14.93. The firm's 50 day moving average is $12.58 and its two-hundred day moving average is $13.16. The company has a quick ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.82.

PennyMac Mortgage Investment Trust (NYSE:PMT - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 22nd. The real estate investment trust reported ($0.04) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.35 by ($0.39). The firm had revenue of $70.20 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $95.46 million. PennyMac Mortgage Investment Trust had a net margin of 34.65% and a return on equity of 7.68%. On average, equities research analysts predict that PennyMac Mortgage Investment Trust will post 1.54 earnings per share for the current year.

PennyMac Mortgage Investment Trust Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 25th. Shareholders of record on Friday, July 11th were paid a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 13.3%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, July 11th. PennyMac Mortgage Investment Trust's dividend payout ratio is currently 222.22%.

About PennyMac Mortgage Investment Trust

PennyMac Mortgage Investment Trust, through its subsidiary, primarily invests in mortgage-related assets in the United States. The company operates through: Credit Sensitive Strategies, Interest Rate Sensitive Strategies, Correspondent Production segments. Its Credit Sensitive Strategies segment invests in credit risk transfer (CRT) agreements, CRT securities, subordinate mortgage-backed securities (MBS), distressed loans, and real estate.

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