PennyMac Financial Services (NYSE:PFSI) Reaches New 12-Month Low – Time to Sell?

PennyMac Financial Services, Inc. (NYSE:PFSI) hit a new 52-week low on Friday . The stock traded as low as $83.56 and last traded at $83.9060, with a volume of 281495 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $88.03.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have issued reports on PFSI. Wall Street Zen downgraded PennyMac Financial Services from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, January 18th. Barclays dropped their target price on PennyMac Financial Services from $158.00 to $136.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 30th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded PennyMac Financial Services from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $115.00 price target on the stock in a report on Monday, March 16th. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on PennyMac Financial Services in a research report on Friday, December 19th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $160.00 price target for the company. Finally, Zacks Research lowered shares of PennyMac Financial Services from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 3rd. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $139.71.

PennyMac Financial Services Trading Down 4.2%

The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $107.79 and its 200-day simple moving average is $120.36. The firm has a market cap of $4.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.07, a P/E/G ratio of 0.48 and a beta of 1.56. The company has a quick ratio of 0.34, a current ratio of 0.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.32.

PennyMac Financial Services (NYSE:PFSI) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The real estate investment trust reported $1.97 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 prior year, the company posted $1.95 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 14.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts predict that PennyMac Financial Services, Inc. will post 13.77 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

PennyMac Financial Services Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 26th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 16th were given a $0.30 dividend. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 13th. PennyMac Financial Services’s dividend payout ratio is 12.90%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Derek Stark sold 1,066 shares of PennyMac Financial Services stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 3rd. The stock was 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 approximately $1,835,951.04. This trade represents a 4.84% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO Daniel Stanley Perotti sold 2,925 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $93.30, for a total transaction of $272,902.50. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 213,550 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $19,924,215. This represents a 1.35% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 51,280 shares of company stock worth $5,154,453. 15.80% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On PennyMac Financial Services

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in PFSI. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of PennyMac Financial Services by 3.8% during the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 24,012 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $2,404,000 after acquiring an additional 875 shares during the period. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of PennyMac Financial Services by 4.6% in the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 15,923 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $1,594,000 after purchasing an additional 706 shares during the period. Intech Investment Management LLC grew its stake in PennyMac Financial Services by 5.8% in the first quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 15,382 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $1,540,000 after purchasing an additional 840 shares in the last quarter. Strs Ohio bought a new position in PennyMac Financial Services in the first quarter worth approximately $30,000. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in PennyMac Financial Services by 6.0% during the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 721,757 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $71,924,000 after purchasing an additional 41,124 shares during the period. 57.87% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other 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.