Walker & Dunlop, Inc. (NYSE:WD) Receives $94.25 Average PT from Brokerages

Shares of Walker & Dunlop, Inc. (NYSE:WD) have been given an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the six analysts that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 1 year price target among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $94.25.

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on WD shares. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Walker & Dunlop from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday, November 8th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Walker & Dunlop in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. JMP Securities set a $95.00 target price on shares of Walker & Dunlop and gave the company a “market outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, October 10th. Citigroup upgraded shares of Walker & Dunlop to an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, October 10th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on Walker & Dunlop from $95.00 to $97.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 9th.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Walker & Dunlop

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in Walker & Dunlop by 0.4% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,743,034 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $312,993,000 after buying an additional 16,392 shares during the period. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Walker & Dunlop by 1.8% during the first quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,218,881 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $104,044,000 after acquiring an additional 21,310 shares during the period. Alliancebernstein L.P. lifted its position in shares of 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 valued at $100,183,000 after acquiring an additional 113,282 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Walker & Dunlop by 2.9% in the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 771,212 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $54,361,000 after acquiring an additional 21,446 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. boosted its stake in Walker & Dunlop by 147.7% in the 3rd quarter. Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. now owns 537,338 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $44,932,000 after purchasing an additional 320,425 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.97% of the company’s stock.

Walker & Dunlop Stock Performance

Shares of WD stock opened at $64.45 on Friday. Walker & Dunlop has a 1 year low of $60.72 and a 1 year high of $111.27. The business’s fifty day moving average is $76.07 and its 200-day moving average is $76.22. The stock has a market cap of $2.20 billion, a PE ratio of 19.89 and a beta of 1.66.

Walker & Dunlop (NYSE:WD) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 6th. The financial services provider reported $1.22 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.21 by $0.01. Walker & Dunlop had a return on equity of 8.81% and a net margin of 9.27%.The business had revenue of $337.68 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $325.10 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.19 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 15.5% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts predict that Walker & Dunlop will post 4.97 earnings per share for the current year.

Walker & Dunlop Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 5th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 21st will be given a dividend of $0.67 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 21st. This represents a $2.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.2%. Walker & Dunlop’s payout ratio is 79.53%.

About Walker & Dunlop

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.