PennyMac Financial Services (NYSE:PFSI) Sets New 52-Week High – Still a Buy?

PennyMac Financial Services, Inc. (NYSE:PFSI)’s share price reached a new 52-week high during trading on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $138.31 and last traded at $138.01, with a volume of 51319 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $136.28.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently issued reports on PFSI. Zacks Research upgraded PennyMac Financial Services to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, December 19th. Piper Sandler boosted their target price on PennyMac Financial Services from $140.00 to $146.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, December 22nd. BTIG Research increased their price target on PennyMac Financial Services from $135.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 29th. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on shares of PennyMac Financial Services in a research note on Friday, December 19th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $160.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised shares of PennyMac Financial Services from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Monday. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $150.29.

PennyMac Financial Services Price Performance

The stock has a market cap of $7.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.74, a P/E/G ratio of 0.63 and a beta of 1.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.01, a current ratio of 0.36 and a quick ratio of 0.36. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $131.07 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $118.12.

PennyMac Financial Services (NYSE:PFSI) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 21st. The real estate investment trust reported $3.37 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.98 by $0.39. PennyMac Financial Services had a net margin of 25.21% and a return on equity of 11.69%. The company had revenue of $632.90 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $573.46 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.30 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 53.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts forecast that PennyMac Financial Services, Inc. will post 13.77 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

PennyMac Financial Services Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 26th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 17th were issued a dividend of $0.30 per share. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, November 17th. PennyMac Financial Services’s payout ratio is presently 12.93%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO David Spector sold 71,161 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $128.07, for a total transaction of $9,113,589.27. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 577,859 shares in the company, valued at $74,006,402.13. This trade represents a 10.96% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Anne Mccallion sold 27,771 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, October 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $131.55, for a total value of $3,653,275.05. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 1,547 shares in the company, valued at $203,507.85. This trade represents a 94.72% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last quarter, insiders sold 208,129 shares of company stock valued at $26,957,567. 15.80% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On PennyMac Financial Services

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Invesco Ltd. boosted its position in PennyMac Financial Services by 18.3% in the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,463,096 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $181,248,000 after buying an additional 226,581 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in PennyMac Financial Services by 6.0% during the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 721,757 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $71,924,000 after acquiring an additional 41,124 shares during the last quarter. Basswood Capital Management L.L.C. increased its holdings in PennyMac Financial Services by 5.9% during the 2nd quarter. Basswood Capital Management L.L.C. now owns 570,210 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $56,816,000 after purchasing an additional 31,743 shares in the last quarter. 140 Summer Partners LP bought a new position in PennyMac Financial Services in the 3rd quarter valued at $55,268,000. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. boosted its stake in PennyMac Financial Services by 7.5% in the third quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 429,403 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $53,195,000 after purchasing an additional 30,015 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.