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

Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of PennyMac Financial Services (NYSE:PFSI) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a report released on Saturday morning.

Other equities analysts have also recently issued research reports about the stock. Piper Sandler raised their price target on shares of PennyMac Financial Services from $140.00 to $146.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, December 22nd. BTIG Research upped their price target on PennyMac Financial Services from $135.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 29th. Zacks Research upgraded PennyMac Financial Services to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, December 19th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of PennyMac Financial Services from $135.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, January 5th. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of PennyMac Financial Services from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Monday, January 5th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $150.29.

PennyMac Financial Services Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:PFSI opened at $146.06 on Friday. PennyMac Financial Services has a twelve month low of $85.74 and a twelve month high of $146.68. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $131.07 and its 200-day moving average is $118.25. The company has a quick ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 0.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.01. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.74, a PEG ratio of 0.67 and a beta of 1.57.

PennyMac Financial Services (NYSE:PFSI) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 21st. The real estate investment trust reported $3.37 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 business had revenue of $632.90 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $573.46 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.30 EPS. PennyMac Financial Services’s revenue was up 53.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts forecast that PennyMac Financial Services will post 13.77 EPS for the current fiscal year.

PennyMac Financial Services Announces Dividend

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

Insider Activity at PennyMac Financial Services

In other news, CEO David Spector sold 71,161 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $128.07, for a total transaction of $9,113,589.27. Following the completion of the sale, 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Daniel Stanley Perotti sold 26,011 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $131.36, for a total value of $3,416,804.96. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 9,964 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,308,871.04. The trade was a 72.30% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 208,129 shares of company stock valued at $26,957,567 over the last quarter. 15.80% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On PennyMac Financial Services

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in PennyMac Financial Services during the second quarter valued at about $26,000. Strs Ohio purchased a new stake in shares of PennyMac Financial Services during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $30,000. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in PennyMac Financial Services by 97.3% in the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 288 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $38,000 after buying an additional 142 shares during the period. Bayforest Capital Ltd purchased a new position in PennyMac Financial Services in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $62,000. Finally, Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. grew its stake in PennyMac Financial Services by 26.3% in the 3rd quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 504 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $62,000 after buying an additional 105 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.