Brokerages Set PennyMac Financial Services, Inc. (NYSE:PFSI) Price Target at $98.13

Shares of PennyMac Financial Services, Inc. (NYSE:PFSI) have earned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the seven research firms that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold recommendation and six have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month price target among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $98.13.

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on PFSI shares. Wedbush raised their price objective on PennyMac Financial Services from $85.00 to $105.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 2nd. StockNews.com upgraded PennyMac Financial Services from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, April 11th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft started coverage on PennyMac Financial Services in a report on Wednesday, January 10th. They set a “buy” rating and a $115.00 target price on the stock. Barclays increased their target price on PennyMac Financial Services from $103.00 to $112.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 9th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded PennyMac Financial Services from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their target price for the company from $100.00 to $105.00 in a report on Tuesday, April 9th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider James Follette sold 2,617 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $86.24, for a total transaction of $225,690.08. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 7,257 shares in the company, valued at approximately $625,843.68. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, CEO David Spector sold 15,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $87.18, for a total value of $1,307,700.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 270,604 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $23,591,256.72. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider James Follette sold 2,617 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $86.24, for a total transaction of $225,690.08. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 7,257 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $625,843.68. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 87,802 shares of company stock worth $7,666,108. Corporate insiders own 17.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of PennyMac Financial Services

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of PFSI. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of PennyMac Financial Services by 128.9% during the fourth quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 364 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 205 shares during the period. Caxton Associates LP raised its holdings in shares of PennyMac Financial Services by 3.6% during the third quarter. Caxton Associates LP now owns 5,874 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $391,000 after acquiring an additional 206 shares during the period. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of PennyMac Financial Services by 2.2% during the first quarter. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC now owns 10,811 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $985,000 after acquiring an additional 236 shares during the period. USA Financial Formulas acquired a new stake in shares of PennyMac Financial Services during the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Finally, Teacher Retirement System of Texas raised its holdings in shares of PennyMac Financial Services by 4.1% during the third quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 9,774 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $651,000 after acquiring an additional 385 shares during the period. 57.87% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

PennyMac Financial Services Stock Performance

Shares of PFSI stock opened at $92.07 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.64 billion, a PE ratio of 33.97, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.59 and a beta of 1.67. PennyMac Financial Services has a 52-week low of $56.16 and a 52-week high of $94.78. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $87.88 and its 200 day moving average price is $82.82. The company has a quick ratio of 0.37, a current ratio of 0.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.90.

PennyMac Financial Services (NYSE:PFSI) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 1st. The real estate investment trust reported $1.76 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.01 by $0.75. PennyMac Financial Services had a return on equity of 7.69% and a net margin of 10.32%. The firm had revenue of $361.94 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $413.35 million. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that PennyMac Financial Services will post 10.41 EPS for the current year.

PennyMac Financial Services Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 23rd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 13th were issued a $0.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 12th. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.87%. PennyMac Financial Services’s dividend payout ratio is currently 29.52%.

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.