Walker & Dunlop (NYSE:WD) Reaches New 1-Year Low – Should You Sell?

Walker & Dunlop, Inc. (NYSE:WD) shares hit a new 52-week low during trading on Thursday . The company traded as low as $61.21 and last traded at $61.5340, with a volume of 89436 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $62.32.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently weighed in on WD. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Walker & Dunlop in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on Walker & Dunlop from $95.00 to $97.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 9th. Citizens Jmp upgraded Walker & Dunlop from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $95.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 10th. JMP Securities set a $95.00 target price on Walker & Dunlop and gave the stock a “market outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, October 10th. Finally, Wedbush restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $90.00 price target on shares of Walker & Dunlop in a research note on Thursday, August 14th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $94.25.

Walker & Dunlop Stock Down 1.3%

The business has a fifty day moving average price of $79.70 and a 200-day moving average price of $76.74. The company has a market cap of $2.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.95 and a beta of 1.66.

Walker & Dunlop (NYSE:WD) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 6th. The financial services provider reported $1.22 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.21 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $337.68 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $325.10 million. Walker & Dunlop had a return on equity of 8.81% and a net margin of 9.27%.The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 15.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.19 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Walker & Dunlop, Inc. will post 4.97 earnings per share for the current year.

Walker & Dunlop Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 5th. Investors of record on Friday, November 21st will be given a dividend of $0.67 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 21st. This represents a $2.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.4%. Walker & Dunlop’s dividend payout ratio is currently 79.53%.

Insider Transactions at Walker & Dunlop

In other Walker & Dunlop news, EVP Paula A. Pryor sold 5,336 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $86.20, for a total value of $459,963.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 9,341 shares in the company, valued at approximately $805,194.20. This trade represents a 36.36% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 3.66% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Walker & Dunlop

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of WD. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Walker & Dunlop during the second quarter worth about $30,422,000. Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. raised its stake in Walker & Dunlop by 147.7% in the third quarter. Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. now owns 537,338 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $44,932,000 after purchasing an additional 320,425 shares in the last quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. purchased a new position in Walker & Dunlop in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $15,147,000. Royce & Associates LP increased its holdings in shares of Walker & Dunlop by 257.2% in the 1st quarter. Royce & Associates LP now owns 282,688 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $24,130,000 after buying an additional 203,542 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Two Sigma Investments LP lifted its holdings in shares of Walker & Dunlop by 238.2% during the 3rd quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 284,067 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $23,754,000 after acquiring an additional 200,074 shares during the last quarter. 80.97% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.