Walker & Dunlop (NYSE:WD) Given Market Perform Rating at Keefe, Bruyette & Woods

Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reaffirmed their market perform rating on shares of Walker & Dunlop (NYSE:WD) in a report released on Tuesday, Benzinga reports. They currently have a $105.00 price objective on the financial services provider’s stock.

Other analysts have also issued research reports about the stock. Wedbush reissued an outperform rating and issued a $130.00 price objective on shares of Walker & Dunlop in a research report on Friday, February 16th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Walker & Dunlop from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research report on Friday, March 22nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of Hold and an average target price of $117.50.

Walker & Dunlop Stock Up 0.3 %

Shares of WD stock opened at $101.06 on Tuesday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $95.29 and its 200-day simple moving average is $88.36. The firm has a market cap of $3.40 billion, a PE ratio of 31.78 and a beta of 1.52. Walker & Dunlop has a 12 month low of $61.06 and a 12 month high of $113.67.

Walker & Dunlop (NYSE:WD) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 15th. The financial services provider reported $1.42 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.04 by $0.38. The business had revenue of $274.30 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $276.76 million. Walker & Dunlop had a net margin of 10.18% and a return on equity of 9.15%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.41 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that Walker & Dunlop will post 4.31 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Walker & Dunlop Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 1st were given a dividend of $0.65 per share. This is a positive change from Walker & Dunlop’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.63. This represents a $2.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.57%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 29th. Walker & Dunlop’s dividend payout ratio is 81.76%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Walker & Dunlop news, EVP Paula A. Pryor sold 1,908 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $94.09, for a total value of $179,523.72. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 3,707 shares in the company, valued at $348,791.63. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other Walker & Dunlop news, Director Howard W. Smith III sold 20,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $97.99, for a total value of $1,959,800.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 191,508 shares in the company, valued at $18,765,868.92. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Paula A. Pryor sold 1,908 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $94.09, for a total transaction of $179,523.72. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 3,707 shares in the company, valued at $348,791.63. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 66,074 shares of company stock valued at $6,288,055. 5.47% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Walker & Dunlop

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of WD. Captrust Financial Advisors grew its stake in shares of Walker & Dunlop by 7.6% in the second quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 1,590 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $153,000 after acquiring an additional 112 shares in the last quarter. Advisor Group Holdings Inc. grew its stake in Walker & Dunlop by 5.7% during the first quarter. Advisor Group Holdings Inc. now owns 2,145 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $262,000 after buying an additional 115 shares in the last quarter. Metropolitan Life Insurance Co NY grew its stake in Walker & Dunlop by 7.6% during the fourth quarter. Metropolitan Life Insurance Co NY now owns 1,959 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $154,000 after buying an additional 139 shares in the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company grew its stake in Walker & Dunlop by 1.2% during the fourth quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 12,452 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $977,000 after buying an additional 148 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Blair William & Co. IL grew its stake in Walker & Dunlop by 6.0% during the first quarter. Blair William & Co. IL now owns 2,630 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $340,000 after buying an additional 150 shares in the last quarter. 80.97% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Walker & Dunlop

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.