Walker & Dunlop (NYSE:WD) Downgraded to Peer Perform at Wolfe Research

Wolfe Research downgraded shares of Walker & Dunlop (NYSE:WD – Get Rating) from an outperform rating to a peer perform rating in a report released on Tuesday, Marketbeat reports.

Other analysts also recently issued research reports about the stock. JMP Securities decreased their target price on shares of Walker & Dunlop from $140.00 to $110.00 and set a market outperform rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, November 10th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Walker & Dunlop from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research report on Thursday, November 17th.

Walker & Dunlop Price Performance

Walker & Dunlop stock opened at $98.05 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $3.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.99 and a beta of 1.33. The business has a 50 day moving average of $85.81 and a 200-day moving average of $92.08. Walker & Dunlop has a 1 year low of $75.33 and a 1 year high of $145.00.

Walker & Dunlop (NYSE:WD – Get Rating) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, November 9th. The financial services provider reported $1.40 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.00 by ($0.60). The firm had revenue of $315.61 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $344.86 million. Walker & Dunlop had a net margin of 18.11% and a return on equity of 15.23%. Equities analysts anticipate that Walker & Dunlop will post 6.68 EPS for the current year.

Walker & Dunlop Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 9th. Investors of record on Friday, November 25th were issued a $0.60 dividend. This represents a $2.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.45%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, November 23rd. Walker & Dunlop’s dividend payout ratio is currently 31.79%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Walker & Dunlop news, COO Stephen P. Theobald sold 3,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $79.99, for a total transaction of $239,970.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 43,699 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,495,483.01. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other Walker & Dunlop news, COO Stephen P. Theobald sold 3,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $79.99, for a total transaction of $239,970.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 43,699 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,495,483.01. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, COO Stephen P. Theobald sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $91.41, for a total value of $914,100.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 43,699 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,994,525.59. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 16,000 shares of company stock worth $1,431,120 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 8.05% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Walker & Dunlop

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System purchased a new position in Walker & Dunlop during the 3rd quarter valued at about $1,231,000. CX Institutional bought a new stake in shares of Walker & Dunlop during the 2nd quarter valued at about $630,000. Strs Ohio boosted its position in shares of Walker & Dunlop by 6.1% during the 2nd quarter. Strs Ohio now owns 12,200 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,175,000 after acquiring an additional 700 shares during the last quarter. Clough Capital Partners L P boosted its position in shares of Walker & Dunlop by 0.6% during the 2nd quarter. Clough Capital Partners L P now owns 65,390 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $6,300,000 after acquiring an additional 380 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Russell Investments Group Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Walker & Dunlop by 10.4% during the 2nd quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 14,160 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,362,000 after acquiring an additional 1,335 shares during the last quarter. 77.78% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Walker & Dunlop Company Profile

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Walker & Dunlop, Inc is a holding company. engages in the provision of commercial real estate and finance services. It focuses on multifamily lending, debt brokerage, and property sales. It also involves the delivery and servicing of loan products for its customers. The company was founded by Oliver Walker and Laird Dunlop in 1937 and is headquartered in Bethesda, MD.