Walker & Dunlop (NYSE:WD) Lifted to Strong-Buy at Wolfe Research

Wolfe Research upgraded shares of Walker & Dunlop (NYSE:WD) to a strong-buy rating in a research report released on Tuesday morning, Zacks.com reports.

A number of other equities analysts have also recently weighed in on WD. StockNews.com raised Walker & Dunlop from a sell rating to a hold rating in a report on Sunday, August 11th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on shares of Walker & Dunlop from $105.00 to $112.00 and gave the company a market perform rating in a research note on Thursday, July 25th. Finally, Wedbush boosted their price objective on Walker & Dunlop from $95.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a research note on Friday, August 9th.

Walker & Dunlop Stock Down 0.2 %

Walker & Dunlop stock opened at $113.75 on Tuesday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $105.67 and its 200 day moving average price is $99.01. The firm has a market cap of $3.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.51 and a beta of 1.55. Walker & Dunlop has a 52 week low of $62.51 and a 52 week high of $116.26.

Walker & Dunlop (NYSE:WD) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 8th. The financial services provider reported $1.23 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.16 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $270.70 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $274.50 million. Walker & Dunlop had a net margin of 8.41% and a return on equity of 9.65%. The firm’s revenue was down .7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.98 earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that Walker & Dunlop will post 5.27 EPS for the current year.

Walker & Dunlop Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 6th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 22nd were issued a dividend of $0.65 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, August 22nd. This represents a $2.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.29%. Walker & Dunlop’s dividend payout ratio is currently 94.89%.

Insider Activity at Walker & Dunlop

In other Walker & Dunlop news, COO Stephen P. Theobald sold 13,870 shares of Walker & Dunlop stock in a transaction on Friday, August 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $106.10, for a total value of $1,471,607.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 53,869 shares in the company, valued at $5,715,500.90. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 5.47% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Walker & Dunlop

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in WD. National Bank of Canada FI grew its stake in shares of Walker & Dunlop by 205.6% in the second quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 275 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 185 shares in the last quarter. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC acquired a new position in Walker & Dunlop in the 1st quarter valued at about $34,000. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. grew its position in Walker & Dunlop by 163.6% in the 1st quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. now owns 398 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $40,000 after acquiring an additional 247 shares in the last quarter. EntryPoint Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Walker & Dunlop during the first quarter worth about $57,000. Finally, Asset Dedication LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Walker & Dunlop during the second quarter worth about $94,000. 80.97% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.