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

Shares of Walker & Dunlop, Inc. (NYSE:WD) have been given a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” by the seven research firms that are covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and five have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year price target among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $79.20.

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Wall Street Zen raised Walker & Dunlop from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 9th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on Walker & Dunlop from $65.00 to $67.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Weiss Ratings raised Walker & Dunlop from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research note on Monday, May 11th. Finally, Stephens assumed coverage on Walker & Dunlop in a research note on Thursday, April 23rd. They set an “overweight” rating and a $69.00 target price on the stock.

Walker & Dunlop Trading Down 0.2%

NYSE WD opened at $50.43 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $1.73 billion, a PE ratio of 24.97 and a beta of 1.52. Walker & Dunlop has a twelve month low of $42.12 and a twelve month high of $90.00. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $48.31 and a 200-day simple moving average of $57.26.

Walker & Dunlop (NYSE:WD) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 26th. The financial services provider reported $0.28 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.46 by ($1.18). The business had revenue of $340.02 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $343.66 million. Walker & Dunlop had a return on equity of 7.18% and a net margin of 5.29%.The business’s revenue for the quarter was down .4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.32 earnings per share.

Walker & Dunlop Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 4th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 21st will be paid a dividend of $0.68 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 21st. This represents a $2.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.4%. Walker & Dunlop’s dividend payout ratio is presently 134.65%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Dana L. Schmaltz bought 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 18th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $45.78 per share, with a total value of $45,780.00. Following the purchase, the director owned 84,325 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,860,398.50. The trade was a 1.20% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Ernest Michael Freedman bought 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 5th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $49.21 per share, for a total transaction of $246,050.00. Following the purchase, the director owned 6,097 shares in the company, valued at $300,033.37. This represents a 455.79% increase in their position. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. 4.02% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Walker & Dunlop

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in Walker & Dunlop by 0.4% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,743,034 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $312,993,000 after purchasing an additional 16,392 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its position in Walker & Dunlop by 2.6% in the 4th 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 in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position in Walker & Dunlop by 8.2% in the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,369,114 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $60,760,000 after purchasing an additional 104,008 shares in the last quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. raised its position 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 valued at $100,183,000 after purchasing an additional 113,282 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. raised its position 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 purchasing an additional 321,734 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.97% of the company’s stock.

Walker & Dunlop Company 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.