PennyMac Financial Services (NYSE:PFSI) Cut to “Sell” at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of PennyMac Financial Services (NYSE:PFSI) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a report published on Saturday.

Several other equities research analysts have also issued reports on PFSI. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price target on shares of PennyMac Financial Services from $108.00 to $100.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday. Stephens dropped their price objective on shares of PennyMac Financial Services from $91.00 to $78.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday. Piper Sandler lowered shares of PennyMac Financial Services from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their target price for the company from $106.00 to $86.00 in a research report on Thursday. BTIG Research decreased their target price on shares of PennyMac Financial Services from $105.00 to $90.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on shares of PennyMac Financial Services from $100.00 to $95.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $104.88.

PennyMac Financial Services Stock Performance

NYSE:PFSI opened at $76.35 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $82.87 and its 200 day simple moving average is $92.63. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.96 billion, a PE ratio of 10.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.71 and a beta of 1.44. The company has a quick ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 0.33 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.63. PennyMac Financial Services has a twelve month low of $71.68 and a twelve month high of $160.36.

PennyMac Financial Services (NYSE:PFSI) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The real estate investment trust reported $1.39 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.11 by ($0.72). The business had revenue of $566.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $571.60 million. PennyMac Financial Services had a net margin of 17.74% and a return on equity of 11.21%. The business’s revenue was up 11.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.54 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that PennyMac Financial Services will post 7.42 EPS for the current fiscal year.

PennyMac Financial Services Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 27th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 17th will be paid a dividend of $0.30 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 17th. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.6%. PennyMac Financial Services’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 16.48%.

Insider Transactions at PennyMac Financial Services

In related news, CFO Daniel Stanley Perotti sold 2,925 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $87.50, for a total value of $255,937.50. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 210,625 shares in the company, valued at $18,429,687.50. This represents a 1.37% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CAO Gregory L. Hendry sold 2,943 shares of PennyMac Financial Services stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $81.71, for a total value of $240,472.53. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 48,968 shares in the company, valued at $4,001,175.28. The trade was a 5.67% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 18,045 shares of company stock worth $1,565,470. Company insiders own 15.80% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On PennyMac Financial Services

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in PennyMac Financial Services by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 2,832,737 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $373,468,000 after acquiring an additional 12,782 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holdings in PennyMac Financial Services by 7.1% in the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,916,271 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $167,474,000 after purchasing an additional 126,902 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. lifted its stake in PennyMac Financial Services by 7.3% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,569,184 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $206,881,000 after buying an additional 106,088 shares during the period. 140 Summer Partners LP grew its position in shares of PennyMac Financial Services by 50.2% during the 4th quarter. 140 Summer Partners LP now owns 669,892 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $88,319,000 after buying an additional 223,752 shares during the period. Finally, Basswood Capital Management L.L.C. grew its position in shares of 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 worth $56,816,000 after buying an additional 31,743 shares during the period. 57.87% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.