PennyMac Financial Services (NYSE:PFSI) Upgraded to “Hold” by StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of PennyMac Financial Services (NYSE:PFSI) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a research report report published on Friday.

Other analysts have also recently issued research reports about the company. Wedbush reiterated an outperform rating and set a $110.00 price objective on shares of PennyMac Financial Services in a research report on Thursday, April 25th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price objective on shares of PennyMac Financial Services from $105.00 to $100.00 and set an outperform rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 26th. Barclays raised their target price on shares of PennyMac Financial Services from $103.00 to $112.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 9th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their price target on PennyMac Financial Services from $115.00 to $112.00 and set a buy rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 25th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $97.75.

PennyMac Financial Services Trading Up 2.3 %

NYSE:PFSI opened at $92.89 on Friday. PennyMac Financial Services has a 52-week low of $56.16 and a 52-week high of $94.78. The company has a quick ratio of 0.39, a current ratio of 0.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.33. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $88.00 and a 200-day simple moving average of $84.20. The company has a market capitalization of $4.68 billion, a PE ratio of 32.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.59 and a beta of 1.68.

PennyMac Financial Services (NYSE:PFSI) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The real estate investment trust reported $2.48 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.34 by $0.14. The company had revenue of $305.66 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $422.87 million. PennyMac Financial Services had a net margin of 10.94% and a return on equity of 10.48%. On average, equities research analysts expect that PennyMac Financial Services will post 10.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

PennyMac Financial Services Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 24th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 14th will be given a dividend of $0.20 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 13th. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.86%. PennyMac Financial Services’s dividend payout ratio is currently 27.78%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Joseph F. Mazzella sold 16,465 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, May 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $90.73, for a total value of $1,493,869.45. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 116,546 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,574,218.58. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other PennyMac Financial Services news, Director Joseph F. Mazzella sold 16,465 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $90.73, for a total value of $1,493,869.45. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 116,546 shares in the company, valued at $10,574,218.58. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO David Spector sold 26,451 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $86.05, for a total value of $2,276,108.55. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 647,938 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $55,755,064.90. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 104,267 shares of company stock worth $9,159,977. Insiders own 16.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On PennyMac Financial Services

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in PFSI. Norges Bank purchased a new position in PennyMac Financial Services in the fourth quarter valued at about $31,258,000. Boston Partners bought a new position in PennyMac Financial Services during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,191,000. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. acquired a new stake in PennyMac Financial Services in the third quarter valued at approximately $17,242,000. Invesco Ltd. grew its position in PennyMac Financial Services by 47.6% in the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 490,297 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $32,654,000 after acquiring an additional 158,181 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its position in PennyMac Financial Services by 2.7% in the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,691,512 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $237,851,000 after acquiring an additional 70,178 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 57.87% of the company’s stock.

About PennyMac Financial Services

PennyMac Financial Services, Inc, through its subsidiaries, engages in the mortgage banking and investment management activities in the United States. The company operates through three segments: Production, Servicing, and Investment Management. The Production segment is involved in the origination, acquisition, and sale of loans.