Walker & Dunlop’s (WD) “Hold (C)” Rating Reiterated at Weiss Ratings

Weiss Ratings reaffirmed their hold (c) rating on shares of Walker & Dunlop (NYSE:WD) in a research note published on Wednesday,Weiss Ratings reports.

Other equities analysts have also recently issued reports about the stock. Wedbush restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $90.00 price target on shares of Walker & Dunlop in a research report on Thursday, August 14th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Walker & Dunlop from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, August 9th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $94.25.

Walker & Dunlop Price Performance

WD stock opened at $81.53 on Wednesday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $83.59 and a 200 day simple moving average of $76.90. The stock has a market cap of $2.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.16 and a beta of 1.59. Walker & Dunlop has a 1 year low of $64.48 and a 1 year high of $118.19.

Walker & Dunlop (NYSE:WD) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 7th. The financial services provider reported $1.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.29 by ($0.14). The company had revenue of $319.24 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $275.84 million. Walker & Dunlop had a return on equity of 8.81% and a net margin of 9.27%.Walker & Dunlop’s revenue for the quarter was up 17.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.23 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Walker & Dunlop will post 4.97 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Walker & Dunlop Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 5th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 21st were given a dividend of $0.67 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, August 21st. This represents a $2.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.3%. Walker & Dunlop’s dividend payout ratio is 82.72%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Walker & Dunlop

In other news, EVP Paula A. Pryor sold 5,336 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, August 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $86.20, for a total transaction of $459,963.20. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 9,341 shares in the company, valued at $805,194.20. This represents a 36.36% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 3.66% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Walker & Dunlop

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. increased its position 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 worth $104,044,000 after buying an additional 21,310 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Walker & Dunlop by 2.9% in the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 771,212 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $54,361,000 after purchasing an additional 21,446 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in Walker & Dunlop by 0.7% in the first quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 463,191 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $39,538,000 after purchasing an additional 3,069 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Walker & Dunlop in the second quarter worth $30,422,000. Finally, Royce & Associates LP grew its holdings in Walker & Dunlop by 257.2% in the first quarter. Royce & Associates LP now owns 282,688 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $24,130,000 after purchasing an additional 203,542 shares during the period. 80.97% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.