Mr. Cooper Group Inc. COOP agreed to acquire Home Point Capital Inc.’s HMPT all outstanding shares for around $324 million in cash. Per the deal, the acquirer is expected to assume Home Point’s outstanding 5% senior notes, which are due in February 2026. It will likely serve as a low-cost funding source.

The deal is expected to close in the third quarter of this year. After the Home Point customers are onboarded and the deal concludes, Mr. Cooper is expected to shut down the acquiree’s remaining operations.

The move is expected to boost COOP’s customer base, which was at 4.1 million in the first quarter. The company focuses on reducing concentration risks, enabling it to generate lucrative risk-adjusted returns. The latest deal is in line with this strategy and is expected to enhance Mr. Cooper’s servicing portfolio with Home Point’s $84 billion portfolio.

COOP’s Servicing unit, which caters to the growing customer base, generated an adjusted pre-tax profit of $157 million in the first quarter. The company looks forward to providing service to Home Point’s high-valued borrowers with high FICO scores. It intends to provide a friction-free experience to customers following the acquisition.

In the first quarter, COOP’s Servicing UPB increased 7% year over year to $853 billion. The latest deal is likely to enhance returns on equity for Mr. Cooper, which is currently at 4.9%, lower than the industry average of 16.5%.

Price Performances

Shares of the company have climbed 4.4% in the past year against the 18.3% fall of the industry.

 

Image Source: Zacks Investment Research

Zacks Rank & Key Picks

Mr. Cooper currently has a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). Some better-ranked stocks in the broader finance space are Allianz SE ALIZY and Owl Rock Capital Corporation ORCC, each carrying a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy) at present. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Allianz’s 2023 earnings is pegged at $2.54 per share, indicating 48.5% year-over-year growth. Over the past 30 days, ALIZY has witnessed one upward estimate revision against none in the opposite direction.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Owl Rock Capital’s 2023 earnings is pegged at $1.79 per share, suggesting 27% year-over-year growth. Also, the consensus mark for ORCC’s revenues in 2023 implies a 24.2% year-over-year rise.

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