Walker & Dunlop, Inc. (NYSE:WD) Announces Quarterly Dividend of $0.67

Walker & Dunlop, Inc. (NYSE:WD) declared a quarterly dividend on Wednesday, November 5th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 21st will be given a dividend of 0.67 per share by the financial services provider on Friday, December 5th. This represents a c) dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 21st.

Walker & Dunlop has increased its dividend payment by an average of 0.2%per year over the last three years and has raised its dividend every year for the last 7 years. Walker & Dunlop has a payout ratio of 60.6% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities research analysts expect Walker & Dunlop to earn $5.29 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $2.68 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 50.7%.

Walker & Dunlop Stock Down 11.2%

NYSE:WD traded down $8.98 on Thursday, reaching $71.00. The stock had a trading volume of 504,381 shares, compared to its average volume of 234,757. The company has a market capitalization of $2.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.91 and a beta of 1.66. Walker & Dunlop has a 1-year low of $64.48 and a 1-year high of $114.60. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $83.53 and a 200-day moving average price of $77.40.

Walker & Dunlop (NYSE:WD) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 6th. The financial services provider reported $1.22 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.21 by $0.01. Walker & Dunlop had a net margin of 9.27% and a return on equity of 8.81%. The firm had revenue of $337.68 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $325.10 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.19 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 15.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that Walker & Dunlop will post 4.97 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Paula A. Pryor sold 5,336 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, August 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $86.20, for a total transaction of $459,963.20. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 9,341 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $805,194.20. This represents a 36.36% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 3.66% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Walker & Dunlop

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. First Horizon Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in Walker & Dunlop during the first quarter worth $27,000. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd acquired a new position in Walker & Dunlop during the first quarter worth $32,000. Allworth Financial LP boosted its holdings in Walker & Dunlop by 115.8% during the second quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 479 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 257 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in Walker & Dunlop by 65.7% during the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 479 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 190 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Strs Ohio acquired a new position in Walker & Dunlop during the first quarter worth $51,000. Institutional investors own 80.97% of the company’s stock.

About Walker & Dunlop

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.