Short Interest in PennyMac Financial Services, Inc. (NYSE:PFSI) Expands By 27.9%

PennyMac Financial Services, Inc. (NYSE:PFSI) was the target of a significant increase in short interest in the month of April. As of April 15th, there was short interest totaling 2,461,598 shares, an increase of 27.9% from the March 31st total of 1,924,779 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 547,579 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 4.5 days. Currently, 5.6% of the company’s shares are short sold.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently commented on the company. Stephens assumed coverage on PennyMac Financial Services in a research report on Friday, April 24th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $100.00 price target for the company. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on PennyMac Financial Services from $135.00 to $110.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 9th. Piper Sandler reduced their price objective on PennyMac Financial Services from $137.00 to $122.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 2nd. Wall Street Zen cut PennyMac Financial Services from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, April 11th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded PennyMac Financial Services from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $115.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Monday, March 16th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $127.25.

PennyMac Financial Services Stock Up 1.9%

Shares of NYSE PFSI traded up $1.70 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $91.99. The company had a trading volume of 155,266 shares, compared to its average volume of 772,639. The company has a market capitalization of $4.80 billion, a PE ratio of 9.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.52 and a beta of 1.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.32, a current ratio of 0.34 and a quick ratio of 0.34. PennyMac Financial Services has a 1-year low of $82.65 and a 1-year high of $160.36. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $89.35 and its 200 day simple moving average is $113.98.

PennyMac Financial Services (NYSE:PFSI) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 29th. The real estate investment trust reported $1.97 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.23 by ($1.26). The company had revenue of $538.01 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $639.81 million. PennyMac Financial Services had a net margin of 24.48% and a return on equity of 10.20%. The firm’s revenue was up 14.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.95 earnings per share. On average, analysts predict that PennyMac Financial Services will post 11.88 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at PennyMac Financial Services

In other news, CEO David Spector sold 12,436 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $86.39, for a total transaction of $1,074,346.04. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 529,401 shares in the company, valued at $45,734,952.39. This trade represents a 2.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Derek Stark sold 1,903 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the insider owned 22,477 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $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. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 51,280 shares of company stock valued at $4,630,853. Corporate insiders own 15.80% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of PennyMac Financial Services

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd raised its stake in PennyMac Financial Services by 7,600.0% in the fourth quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 231 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 228 shares in the last quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in PennyMac Financial Services in the fourth quarter valued at $31,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in PennyMac Financial Services in the second quarter valued at $26,000. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in PennyMac Financial Services by 97.3% in 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Strs Ohio acquired a new stake in PennyMac Financial Services in the first quarter valued at $30,000. 57.87% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

PennyMac Financial Services Company Profile

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.