Walker & Dunlop (NYSE:WD) Hits New 12-Month Low After Analyst Downgrade

Shares of Walker & Dunlop, Inc. (NYSE:WD) reached a new 52-week low during mid-day trading on Monday after Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price target on the stock from $57.00 to $45.00. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods currently has an outperform rating on the stock. Walker & Dunlop traded as low as $32.36 and last traded at $32.3650, with a volume of 25,121 shares. The stock had previously closed at $33.01.

WD has been the topic of a number of other research reports. Wall Street Zen upgraded Walker & Dunlop from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, August 29th. Citigroup restated a “market outperform” rating on shares of Walker & Dunlop in a report on Tuesday, August 18th. Weiss Ratings cut Walker & Dunlop from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 18th. Finally, Citizens Jmp dropped their price target on shares of Walker & Dunlop from $70.00 to $55.00 and set a “market outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, August 18th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $61.00.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Walker & Dunlop

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new position in Walker & Dunlop in the second quarter valued at $289,614,000. Legal & General Group Plc acquired a new stake in shares of Walker & Dunlop during the second quarter worth about $4,318,000. Algert Global LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Walker & Dunlop during the second quarter worth about $3,766,000. Man Group plc purchased a new stake in shares of Walker & Dunlop in the 2nd quarter valued at about $5,095,000. Finally, Ieq Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Walker & Dunlop in the 2nd quarter valued at about $2,640,000. 80.97% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Walker & Dunlop Trading Down 2.2%

The firm has a market capitalization of $1.11 billion, a PE ratio of 28.84 and a beta of 1.52. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $39.76 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $46.46.

Walker & Dunlop (NYSE:WD) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The financial services provider reported $1.19 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.90 by $0.29. Walker & Dunlop had a net margin of 2.94% and a return on equity of 7.25%. The firm had revenue of $306.69 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $337.37 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.15 EPS. Walker & Dunlop’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.9% on a year-over-year basis.

Walker & Dunlop Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 3rd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 20th were issued a $0.68 dividend. This represents a $2.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 8.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, August 20th. Walker & Dunlop’s dividend payout ratio is presently 242.86%.

Walker & Dunlop Company Profile

Walker & Dunlop, Inc (NYSE: WD) is a commercial real estate finance and advisory company that provides capital and transaction services to property owners, investors, developers and other real estate participants. The company serves clients across major commercial property sectors, including multifamily, office, retail, industrial, hospitality and healthcare.

Its services include commercial real estate lending, debt and equity financing, investment sales, property sales, loan servicing, valuation and advisory services.