Voss Capital LLC Increases Stake in Walker & Dunlop, Inc. (NYSE:WD)

Voss Capital LLC raised its holdings in Walker & Dunlop, Inc. (NYSE:WD) by 16.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 84,395 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 12,165 shares during the period. Walker & Dunlop makes up approximately 0.9% of Voss Capital LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 23rd largest position. Voss Capital LLC owned 0.25% of Walker & Dunlop worth $9,369,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Advisor Group Holdings Inc. raised its holdings in Walker & Dunlop by 5.7% in the first quarter. Advisor Group Holdings Inc. now owns 2,145 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $262,000 after acquiring an additional 115 shares in the last quarter. Citigroup Inc. increased its position in shares of Walker & Dunlop by 1.7% in the 1st quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 28,424 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,678,000 after purchasing an additional 465 shares during the last quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Walker & Dunlop by 47.8% in the 1st quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 15,223 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,970,000 after purchasing an additional 4,925 shares in the last quarter. Rhumbline Advisers lifted its position in shares of Walker & Dunlop by 2.4% during the 1st quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 79,654 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $10,309,000 after purchasing an additional 1,846 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Great West Life Assurance Co. Can grew its stake in shares of Walker & Dunlop by 1.0% during the first quarter. Great West Life Assurance Co. Can now owns 26,233 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,482,000 after purchasing an additional 260 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.97% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Walker & Dunlop

In related news, Director Howard W. Smith III sold 20,166 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, March 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $93.56, for a total transaction of $1,886,730.96. Following the sale, the director now owns 191,508 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $17,917,488.48. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other Walker & Dunlop news, Director Howard W. Smith III sold 20,166 shares of Walker & Dunlop stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $93.56, for a total value of $1,886,730.96. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 191,508 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $17,917,488.48. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Gregory Florkowski sold 4,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $96.45, for a total value of $385,800.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 11,809 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,138,978.05. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 46,074 shares of company stock valued at $4,328,255. 5.26% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have weighed in on WD. StockNews.com cut shares of Walker & Dunlop from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Friday, March 22nd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reissued a “market perform” rating and issued a $105.00 price target on shares of Walker & Dunlop in a research report on Tuesday, March 26th. Finally, Wedbush downgraded shares of Walker & Dunlop from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their price objective for the company from $130.00 to $95.00 in a research note on Thursday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and three have issued a hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $100.00.

Walker & Dunlop Stock Performance

WD stock traded down $1.04 during trading on Monday, reaching $89.89. 306,499 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 231,867. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $94.57 and its 200 day moving average price is $89.64. Walker & Dunlop, Inc. has a 52-week low of $61.06 and a 52-week high of $113.67. The company has a market cap of $3.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.27 and a beta of 1.53.

Walker & Dunlop (NYSE:WD) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 15th. The financial services provider reported $1.42 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.04 by $0.38. The firm had revenue of $274.30 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $276.76 million. Walker & Dunlop had a return on equity of 9.15% and a net margin of 10.18%. Walker & Dunlop’s revenue was down 3.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.41 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Walker & Dunlop, Inc. will post 4.21 EPS for the current year.

Walker & Dunlop Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Investors of record on Friday, March 1st were paid a $0.65 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 29th. This represents a $2.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.89%. This is a positive change from Walker & Dunlop’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.63. Walker & Dunlop’s dividend payout ratio is presently 81.76%.

Walker & Dunlop Company Profile

Walker & Dunlop, Inc, through its subsidiaries, originates, sells, and services a range of multifamily and other commercial real estate financing products and services for owners and developers of real estate in the United States. It operates through three segments: Capital Markets, Servicing & Asset Management, and Corporate.