PennyMac Financial Services (NYSE:PFSI) Downgraded to Sell Rating by Wall Street Zen

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

Several other equities analysts also recently commented on the stock. Piper Sandler dropped their price objective on shares of PennyMac Financial Services from $137.00 to $122.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 2nd. Jefferies Financial Group started 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. Zacks Research raised shares of PennyMac Financial Services from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, April 3rd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised shares of PennyMac Financial Services from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $115.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Monday, March 16th. Finally, Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of PennyMac Financial Services from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 20th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, PennyMac Financial Services presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $131.14.

PennyMac Financial Services Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:PFSI opened at $91.39 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $4.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.83, a PEG ratio of 0.53 and a beta of 1.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.32, a current ratio of 0.34 and a quick ratio of 0.34. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $89.99 and a 200 day simple moving average of $116.82. PennyMac Financial Services has a one year low of $82.65 and a one year high of $160.36.

PennyMac Financial Services (NYSE:PFSI) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 29th. The real estate investment trust reported $1.97 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.23 by ($1.26). The company had revenue of $538.01 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $639.81 million. PennyMac Financial Services had a net margin of 24.48% and a return on equity of 10.20%. PennyMac Financial Services’s revenue for the quarter was up 14.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.95 EPS. Research analysts predict that PennyMac Financial Services will post 13.77 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

PennyMac Financial Services Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 26th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 16th were given a dividend of $0.30 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 13th. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.3%. PennyMac Financial Services’s dividend payout ratio is 12.90%.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Derek Stark sold 1,066 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $87.66, for a total transaction of $93,445.56. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 20,944 shares in the company, valued at $1,835,951.04. This represents a 4.84% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO David Spector sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $86.39, for a total transaction of $863,900.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 80,604 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,963,379.56. This trade represents a 11.04% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last three months, insiders have sold 51,280 shares of company stock valued at $5,154,453. 15.80% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On PennyMac Financial Services

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of PFSI. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of PennyMac Financial Services during the second quarter worth $26,000. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd increased its position in shares of 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 worth $30,000 after buying an additional 228 shares during the period. Strs Ohio acquired a new stake in shares of PennyMac Financial Services during the first quarter worth $30,000. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of PennyMac Financial Services during the fourth quarter worth $31,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in PennyMac Financial Services by 97.3% in the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 288 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 142 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.