PennyMac Financial Services, Inc. (NYSE:PFSI) Short Interest Update

PennyMac Financial Services, Inc. (NYSE:PFSI) saw a significant increase in short interest in February. As of February 13th, there was short interest totaling 1,965,915 shares, an increase of 48.1% from the January 29th total of 1,327,258 shares. Approximately 4.5% of the company’s stock are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 1,550,167 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 1.3 days. Based on an average trading volume of 1,550,167 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 1.3 days. Approximately 4.5% of the company’s stock are sold short.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on PFSI shares. Barclays cut their target price on PennyMac Financial Services from $158.00 to $136.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 30th. BTIG Research reissued a “buy” rating on shares of PennyMac Financial Services in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on PennyMac Financial Services from $150.00 to $135.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on PennyMac Financial Services in a research note on Friday, December 19th. They set a “buy” rating and a $160.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of PennyMac Financial Services from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 20th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $139.71.

PennyMac Financial Services Stock Performance

Shares of PFSI traded down $1.67 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $90.26. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 924,934 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,201,449. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $121.07 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $122.49. PennyMac Financial Services has a 52-week low of $85.74 and a 52-week high of $160.36. 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 company has a market cap of $4.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.70, a PEG ratio of 0.52 and a beta of 1.56.

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

PennyMac Financial Services Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 26th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 16th were paid a $0.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 13th. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.3%. PennyMac Financial Services’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 12.90%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO David Spector sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $94.50, for a total value of $945,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 90,604 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,562,078. This trade represents a 9.94% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Derek Stark sold 1,903 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $91.50, for a total value of $174,124.50. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 22,477 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,056,645.50. This represents a 7.81% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 36,308 shares of company stock worth $4,236,500 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 15.80% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On PennyMac Financial Services

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in PennyMac Financial Services in the 2nd quarter valued at $26,000. Strs Ohio bought a new position in shares of PennyMac Financial Services in the first quarter worth $30,000. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of PennyMac Financial Services in the fourth quarter worth $31,000. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in PennyMac Financial Services by 97.3% during the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 288 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $38,000 after buying an additional 142 shares during the period. Finally, Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. grew its position in PennyMac Financial Services by 26.3% during the third quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 504 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $62,000 after buying an additional 105 shares in the last quarter. 57.87% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.