PennyMac Financial Services (NYSE:PFSI) Rating Increased to Hold at Wall Street Zen

Key Points

• Wall Street Zen upgraded PennyMac Financial Services from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating, indicating a more cautious outlook on the stock.
• Several research firms have adjusted their price targets for PennyMac, with a consensus price target of $119.33 among analysts.
• PennyMac Financial Services reported earnings per share (EPS) of $1.02, missing expectations significantly, which reflects ongoing challenges in the mortgage market.

PennyMac Financial Services (NYSE:PFSI - Get Free Report) was upgraded by research analysts at Wall Street Zen from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note issued on Saturday.

PFSI has been the subject of several other research reports. Wells Fargo & Company assumed coverage on shares of PennyMac Financial Services in a research note on Monday, August 25th. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $115.00 target price for the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on shares of PennyMac Financial Services from $117.00 to $121.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 3rd. Barclays reduced their price objective on shares of PennyMac Financial Services from $124.00 to $119.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. Piper Sandler reduced their price objective on shares of PennyMac Financial Services from $125.00 to $121.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 23rd. Finally, UBS Group reduced their price objective on shares of PennyMac Financial Services from $115.00 to $110.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 24th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $119.33.

PennyMac Financial Services Stock Performance

Shares of PFSI stock traded up $1.13 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $127.29. The stock had a trading volume of 506,586 shares, compared to its average volume of 422,803. PennyMac Financial Services has a fifty-two week low of $85.74 and a fifty-two week high of $130.02. The firm has a market cap of $6.58 billion, a PE ratio of 17.65 and a beta of 1.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.03, a current ratio of 0.34 and a quick ratio of 0.34. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $106.74 and its 200-day simple moving average is $100.89.

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 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.01 by ($1.99). PennyMac Financial Services had a return on equity of 12.18% and a net margin of 22.00%.The firm had revenue of $444.73 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $547.44 million. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.85 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 9.5% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts anticipate that PennyMac Financial Services will post 13.77 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Daniel Stanley Perotti sold 2,925 shares of PennyMac Financial Services stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $116.63, for a total transaction of $341,142.75. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 225,250 shares in the company, valued at $26,270,907.50. The trade was a 1.28% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Joseph F. Mazzella sold 7,107 shares of PennyMac Financial Services stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $108.16, for a total transaction of $768,693.12. Following the sale, the director owned 86,050 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $9,307,168. This trade represents a 7.63% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 30,632 shares of company stock valued at $3,295,916. 15.80% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On PennyMac Financial Services

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. AlphaQuest LLC increased its stake in shares of PennyMac Financial Services by 4.4% in the first quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 2,587 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $259,000 after buying an additional 110 shares during the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. increased its stake in shares of PennyMac Financial Services by 0.7% in the second quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 16,034 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $1,598,000 after buying an additional 111 shares during the last quarter. CWM LLC increased its stake in shares of PennyMac Financial Services by 71.5% in the first quarter. CWM LLC now owns 271 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 113 shares during the last quarter. Hohimer Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in shares of PennyMac Financial Services by 5.4% in the first quarter. Hohimer Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,351 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $235,000 after buying an additional 121 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc increased its stake in shares of PennyMac Financial Services by 0.5% in the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 35,478 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $3,535,000 after buying an additional 173 shares during the last quarter. 57.87% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.