Walker & Dunlop, Inc. (NYSE:WD) Receives Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

Walker & Dunlop, Inc. (NYSE:WD) has earned a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the six brokerages that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 1-year price objective among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $64.00.

A number of research firms recently weighed in on WD. Citizens Jmp decreased their price target on Walker & Dunlop from $70.00 to $55.00 and set a “market outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, August 18th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Walker & Dunlop from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, August 29th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their target price on shares of Walker & Dunlop from $63.00 to $57.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, August 7th. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Walker & Dunlop from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 18th. Finally, Citigroup reissued a “market outperform” rating on shares of Walker & Dunlop in a research report on Tuesday, August 18th.

Institutional Trading of Walker & Dunlop

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. IFP Advisors Inc boosted its position in shares of Walker & Dunlop by 223.8% in the second quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 489 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 338 shares during the period. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in Walker & Dunlop by 107.9% during the first quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 580 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 301 shares during the period. Essential Partners LLC raised its position in Walker & Dunlop by 709.1% during the first quarter. Essential Partners LLC now owns 623 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 546 shares during the period. Quantbot Technologies LP purchased a new stake in Walker & Dunlop in the 2nd quarter worth about $35,000. Finally, Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd lifted its stake in Walker & Dunlop by 1,398.0% in the 4th quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 734 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $44,000 after acquiring an additional 685 shares in the last quarter. 80.97% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Walker & Dunlop Stock Performance

NYSE WD opened at $34.52 on Friday. Walker & Dunlop has a 1 year low of $33.59 and a 1 year high of $90.00. The business’s fifty day moving average is $42.02 and its two-hundred day moving average is $47.01. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.82 and a beta of 1.52.

Walker & Dunlop (NYSE:WD) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 6th. The financial services provider reported $1.19 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.90 by $0.29. The business had revenue of $306.69 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $337.37 million. Walker & Dunlop had a return on equity of 7.25% and a net margin of 2.94%.The company’s revenue was down 3.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.15 EPS.

Walker & Dunlop Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 3rd. Investors of record on Thursday, August 20th were paid a $0.68 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, August 20th. This represents a $2.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 7.9%. Walker & Dunlop’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 242.86%.

About Walker & Dunlop

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.