PennyMac Financial Services, Inc. (NYSE:PFSI) Short Interest Down 14.7% in March

PennyMac Financial Services, Inc. (NYSE:PFSI) was the recipient of a significant decrease in short interest in March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totalling 1,220,000 shares, a decrease of 14.7% from the March 15th total of 1,430,000 shares. Approximately 2.5% of the company’s stock are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 377,500 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 3.2 days.

PennyMac Financial Services Stock Performance

Shares of PFSI stock opened at $94.19 on Tuesday. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $99.24 and a 200 day simple moving average of $102.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.22, a current ratio of 0.26 and a quick ratio of 0.38. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.19 and a beta of 1.73. PennyMac Financial Services has a 12-month low of $83.03 and a 12-month high of $119.13.

PennyMac Financial Services (NYSE:PFSI) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The real estate investment trust reported $2.88 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.09 by ($0.21). PennyMac Financial Services had a return on equity of 16.61% and a net margin of 19.54%. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that PennyMac Financial Services will post 13.77 EPS for the current year.

PennyMac Financial Services Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, February 23rd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 13th were paid a dividend of $0.30 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 13th. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.27%. PennyMac Financial Services’s payout ratio is 20.55%.

Insider Activity at PennyMac Financial Services

In related news, CFO Daniel Stanley Perotti sold 10,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $101.49, for a total transaction of $1,065,645.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 214,997 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $21,820,045.53. This represents a 4.66 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Mark Elbaum sold 410 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, April 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $102.88, for a total value of $42,180.80. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 4,207 shares in the company, valued at $432,816.16. This trade represents a 8.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 44,464 shares of company stock valued at $4,540,867 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 16.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of PennyMac Financial Services

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. acquired a new position in shares of PennyMac Financial Services during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $39,000. Sterling Capital Management LLC lifted its position in PennyMac Financial Services by 601.8% in the fourth quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 400 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $41,000 after purchasing an additional 343 shares during the period. Aquatic Capital Management LLC bought a new position in PennyMac Financial Services during the 4th quarter valued at $71,000. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust increased its position in shares of PennyMac Financial Services by 54.7% during the 4th quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 1,100 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $112,000 after purchasing an additional 389 shares during the period. Finally, KBC Group NV raised its stake in shares of PennyMac Financial Services by 15.6% in the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,549 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $158,000 after buying an additional 209 shares in the last quarter. 57.87% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

PFSI has been the subject of several research reports. UBS Group decreased their price target on shares of PennyMac Financial Services from $115.00 to $110.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. Piper Sandler decreased their target price on PennyMac Financial Services from $132.00 to $130.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised PennyMac Financial Services from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $114.00 target price for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, PennyMac Financial Services presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $120.86.

PennyMac Financial Services Company Profile

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.