Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky Raises Position in Walker & Dunlop, Inc. $WD

Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky lifted its holdings in shares of Walker & Dunlop, Inc. (NYSE:WD) by 23.3% during the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 121,602 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 23,010 shares during the period. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky’s holdings in Walker & Dunlop were worth $5,397,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. State Street Corp increased its stake in Walker & Dunlop by 2.6% in the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,496,711 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $90,027,000 after purchasing an additional 37,828 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its stake in Walker & Dunlop by 1.4% in the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,265,106 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $76,097,000 after buying an additional 17,846 shares during the last quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. boosted its stake in Walker & Dunlop by 10.4% in the 3rd quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 1,198,071 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $100,183,000 after buying an additional 113,282 shares during the last quarter. Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. grew its holdings in Walker & Dunlop by 59.9% in the 4th quarter. Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. now owns 859,072 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $51,673,000 after buying an additional 321,734 shares during the period. Finally, Royce & Associates LP grew its holdings in Walker & Dunlop by 12.2% in the 4th quarter. Royce & Associates LP now owns 545,558 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $32,815,000 after buying an additional 59,465 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.97% of the company’s stock.

Walker & Dunlop Trading Down 0.3%

NYSE WD opened at $48.71 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $1.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.11 and a beta of 1.48. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $51.73 and its 200-day simple moving average is $53.71. Walker & Dunlop, Inc. has a 52 week low of $42.12 and a 52 week high of $90.00.

Walker & Dunlop Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 4th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 21st were paid a dividend of $0.68 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, May 21st. This represents a $2.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.6%. Walker & Dunlop’s payout ratio is 134.65%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently commented on WD. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Walker & Dunlop from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 30th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Walker & Dunlop from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 9th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on shares of Walker & Dunlop from $65.00 to $67.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, May 8th. Finally, Stephens started coverage on shares of Walker & Dunlop in a research report on Thursday, April 23rd. They set an “overweight” rating and a $69.00 price target for the company. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $79.20.

Walker & Dunlop Profile

Walker & Dunlop is one of the largest providers of commercial real estate finance in the United States, specializing in the origination, servicing and sale of loans secured by multifamily, seniors housing, healthcare, student housing and manufactured housing properties. The firm offers a full suite of debt and equity solutions, including agency financing through Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, HUD and FHA-insured loans, bridge and construction financing, mezzanine debt, preferred equity, and investment sales advisory.

With roots dating back to 1937 and its headquarters in Bethesda, Maryland, Walker & Dunlop has expanded its platform through both organic growth and strategic acquisitions.