Walker & Dunlop, Inc. (NYSE:WD) Receives Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Brokerages

Walker & Dunlop, Inc. (NYSE:WD) has been assigned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the six research firms that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat reports. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and four have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 12 month price objective among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $94.25.

Several brokerages recently weighed in on WD. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Walker & Dunlop in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Citigroup upgraded shares of Walker & Dunlop to an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, October 10th. Wedbush restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $90.00 price target on shares of Walker & Dunlop in a research report on Thursday, August 14th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Walker & Dunlop from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, August 9th. Finally, JMP Securities set a $95.00 price target on shares of Walker & Dunlop and gave the stock a “market outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, October 10th.

Walker & Dunlop Stock Up 0.4%

WD opened at $80.25 on Tuesday. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $83.76 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $77.33. Walker & Dunlop has a 52 week low of $64.48 and a 52 week high of $118.19. The company has a market capitalization of $2.73 billion, a PE ratio of 24.77 and a beta of 1.59.

Walker & Dunlop (NYSE:WD) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 7th. The financial services provider reported $1.15 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.29 by ($0.14). Walker & Dunlop had a net margin of 9.27% and a return on equity of 8.81%. The company had revenue of $319.24 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $275.84 million. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.23 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 17.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Walker & Dunlop will post 4.97 earnings per share for the current year.

Walker & Dunlop Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 5th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 21st were given a $0.67 dividend. This represents a $2.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.3%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, August 21st. Walker & Dunlop’s payout ratio is currently 82.72%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Paula A. Pryor sold 5,336 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $86.20, for a total value of $459,963.20. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 9,341 shares in the company, valued at approximately $805,194.20. The trade was a 36.36% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 3.66% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of WD. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in Walker & Dunlop by 26.1% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 764 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $65,000 after acquiring an additional 158 shares during the last quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC purchased a new stake in Walker & Dunlop in the 1st quarter worth about $219,000. First Horizon Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in Walker & Dunlop in the 1st quarter worth about $27,000. Teacher Retirement System of Texas purchased a new stake in Walker & Dunlop in the 1st quarter worth about $421,000. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its position in Walker & Dunlop by 2.4% in the 1st quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 160,069 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $13,663,000 after purchasing an additional 3,805 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 80.97% of the company’s stock.

Walker & Dunlop Company 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.