Release Date: April 22, 2025
For the complete transcript of the earnings call, please refer to the full earnings call transcript.
Positive Points
- PennyMac Mortgage Investment Trust (PMT, Financial) declared a first quarter common dividend of $0.40 per share, demonstrating a commitment to returning value to shareholders.
- The company's diversified investment portfolio and strong risk management practices, including a well-established interest rate hedging program, have enabled it to manage through challenging market conditions effectively.
- PMT's synergistic relationship with PFSI provides competitive advantages, such as access to a large and agile multichannel origination business and the ability to execute private label securitizations.
- The company successfully completed three securitizations of investor loans totaling $1 billion, retaining $94 million in new investments with expected returns on equity in the mid-teens.
- PMT's MSR investments, which account for approximately half of its deployed equity, are expected to continue producing stable cash flows due to low expected prepayments and a higher interest rate environment.
Negative Points
- PMT reported a net loss to common shareholders of $1 million in the first quarter, or negative $0.01 per diluted common share, primarily due to interest rate volatility and credit spread widening.
- The interest rate sensitive strategies contributed a pretax loss of $5 million, with fair value declines on MSR investments amounting to $56 million.
- Total correspondent loan acquisition volume was $23 billion in the first quarter, down 18% from the prior quarter, reflecting a decline in the size of the origination market.
- The company's book value per share decreased by about 2% to 3% since the end of the quarter due to higher hedge costs, interest rate volatility, and spread widening.
- PMT's run rate return potential reflects a quarterly average of $0.35 per share, down from $0.37 per share in the prior quarter, due to compression between longer-dated asset yields and short-term financing rates.
Q & A Highlights
Q: Given the movement in rates since quarter end, can you discuss any changes in your book value and expected ROE?
A: Daniel Perotti, CFO, explained that significant interest rate volatility and credit spread widening have impacted the quarter. The hedging program has helped mitigate some effects, but book value decreased by about 2% to 3% since the end of the quarter. The ongoing ROE reflects current expectations and market conditions.
Q: With the updated mortgage banking agreement between PennyMac and PFSI, is there an expectation that PMT could acquire a larger percentage of loans from PFSI in the back half of the year?
A: Daniel Perotti noted that PMT's acquisition amounts depend on where capital deployment is most advantageous. Currently, the focus is on increasing investments in credit-sensitive strategies rather than interest rate-sensitive strategies, so no significant increase in loan retention is expected.
Q: Can you update on your thinking about capital commitment given the current market dislocation?
A: David Spector, CEO, stated that PMT is pleased with its current capital allocation, focusing on growing credit-sensitive strategies and maintaining correspondent activity. The goal is to continue increasing returns and focus on best execution for investments.
Q: What is your outlook for the dividend given the lowered run rate earnings?
A: Daniel Perotti mentioned that despite the run rate decline, the dividend is expected to remain stable at $0.40. The decline is mainly due to the yield curve's impact on interest rate-sensitive strategies, but the yield curve is expected to normalize, improving returns.
Q: Can you discuss return expectations on new loan securitizations given the spread widening?
A: David Spector highlighted that credit spread widening has increased return targets on sub-bonds to mid-teens. The ability to create securitizations organically is crucial for PMT to deploy capital effectively and achieve these returns.
For the complete transcript of the earnings call, please refer to the full earnings call transcript.
