Lighthouse Investment Partners LLC Purchases Shares of 9,351 Walker & Dunlop, Inc. (NYSE:WD)

Lighthouse Investment Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Walker & Dunlop, Inc. (NYSE:WD) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 9,351 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $909,000.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Sterling Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Walker & Dunlop by 456.4% during the 4th quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 306 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 251 shares in the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Walker & Dunlop by 230.8% during the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 751 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $72,000 after buying an additional 524 shares in the last quarter. KBC Group NV grew its position in shares of Walker & Dunlop by 33.6% during the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,607 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $156,000 after buying an additional 404 shares during the period. Quantbot Technologies LP bought a new stake in shares of Walker & Dunlop in the 4th quarter valued at $178,000. Finally, Crewe Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Walker & Dunlop by 42.9% during the 4th quarter. Crewe Advisors LLC now owns 2,000 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $194,000 after acquiring an additional 600 shares during the period. 80.97% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price objective on Walker & Dunlop from $105.00 to $95.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Walker & Dunlop from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th.

Insider Buying and Selling at Walker & Dunlop

In related news, CEO William M. Walker bought 17,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 6th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $86.21 per share, for a total transaction of $1,508,675.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 411,271 shares in the company, valued at $35,455,672.91. This trade represents a 4.44% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Insiders own 3.66% of the company’s stock.

Walker & Dunlop Trading Down 2.2%

Shares of WD stock opened at $74.24 on Thursday. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $78.79 and its 200 day moving average is $91.80. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.27 and a beta of 1.64. Walker & Dunlop, Inc. has a 12 month low of $69.59 and a 12 month high of $118.19.

Walker & Dunlop (NYSE:WD) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The financial services provider reported $0.85 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.98 by ($0.13). Walker & Dunlop had a net margin of 9.55% and a return on equity of 9.64%. The company had revenue of $237.37 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $260.43 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.35 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 4.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts predict that Walker & Dunlop, Inc. will post 4.97 EPS for the current year.

Walker & Dunlop Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 29th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 15th will be paid a $0.67 dividend. This represents a $2.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.61%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 15th. Walker & Dunlop’s dividend payout ratio is presently 91.78%.

Walker & Dunlop Profile

Walker & Dunlop, Inc is a holding company, which engages in the provision of commercial real estate and finance services. It operates through the following segments: Capital Markets, Servicing and Asset Management, and Corporate. The Capital Markets segment offers a comprehensive range of commercial real estate finance products to customers.