Legal & General Group Plc Makes New Investment in PennyMac Financial Services, Inc. $PFSI

Legal & General Group Plc bought a new stake in shares of PennyMac Financial Services, Inc. (NYSE:PFSI) during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 25,837 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock, valued at approximately $2,250,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd lifted its position in PennyMac Financial Services by 7,600.0% during the fourth quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 231 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 228 shares during the period. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in PennyMac Financial Services in the fourth quarter worth approximately $31,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in PennyMac Financial Services in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $26,000. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. bought a new stake in PennyMac Financial Services in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $25,000. Finally, Strs Ohio purchased a new stake in PennyMac Financial Services during the 1st quarter valued at $30,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 57.87% of the company’s stock.

PennyMac Financial Services Price Performance

Shares of PennyMac Financial Services stock opened at $73.29 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $3.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.07, a P/E/G ratio of 0.69 and a beta of 1.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.22, a quick ratio of 0.38 and a current ratio of 0.38. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $79.32 and its 200 day moving average is $84.63. PennyMac Financial Services, Inc. has a one year low of $70.67 and a one year high of $160.36.

PennyMac Financial Services (NYSE:PFSI) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The real estate investment trust reported $1.39 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.11 by ($0.72). PennyMac Financial Services had a net margin of 17.74% and a return on equity of 11.18%. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.54 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 11.8% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts anticipate that PennyMac Financial Services, Inc. will post 7.36 earnings per share for the current year.

PennyMac Financial Services Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 27th. Investors of record on Monday, August 17th were paid a dividend of $0.30 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 17th. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.6%. PennyMac Financial Services’s payout ratio is 16.48%.

Insider Activity

In other PennyMac Financial Services news, CAO Gregory Hendry sold 2,177 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $86.89, for a total value of $189,159.53. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 48,968 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,254,829.52. This represents a 4.26% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 15.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

PFSI has been the topic of a number of research reports. Barclays dropped their price target on PennyMac Financial Services from $93.00 to $85.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Wall Street Zen cut PennyMac Financial Services from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, August 1st. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of PennyMac Financial Services in a report on Monday, August 3rd. Stephens dropped their target price on PennyMac Financial Services from $91.00 to $78.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Finally, BTIG Research cut their price target on PennyMac Financial Services from $105.00 to $90.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, PennyMac Financial Services presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $104.88.

About PennyMac Financial Services

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.