Walker & Dunlop (NYSE:WD) Reaches New 52-Week Low – Here’s What Happened

Shares of Walker & Dunlop, Inc. (NYSE:WD) reached a new 52-week low during trading on Friday . The stock traded as low as $64.47 and last traded at $64.8350, with a volume of 27062 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $65.61.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WD has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Citigroup upgraded Walker & Dunlop to an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, October 10th. JMP Securities set a $95.00 price objective on shares of Walker & Dunlop and gave the company a “market outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, October 10th. Wall Street Zen cut Walker & Dunlop from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, November 8th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Walker & Dunlop in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Citizens Jmp upgraded Walker & Dunlop from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $95.00 target price on the stock in a report on Friday, October 10th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $94.25.

Walker & Dunlop Stock Down 0.8%

The company has a 50 day moving average of $81.57 and a 200 day moving average of $77.09. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.09 and a beta of 1.66.

Walker & Dunlop (NYSE:WD) last issued 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. The firm had revenue of $337.68 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $325.10 million. Walker & Dunlop had a net margin of 9.27% and a return on equity of 8.81%. Walker & Dunlop’s quarterly revenue was up 15.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.19 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that Walker & Dunlop, Inc. will post 4.97 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Walker & Dunlop Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 5th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 21st will be paid a dividend of $0.67 per share. This represents a $2.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 21st. Walker & Dunlop’s dividend payout ratio is 79.53%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Paula A. Pryor sold 5,336 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $86.20, for a total transaction of $459,963.20. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 9,341 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $805,194.20. The trade was a 36.36% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Company insiders own 3.66% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Two Sigma Investments LP boosted its stake in shares of Walker & Dunlop by 238.2% in the 3rd quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 284,067 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $23,754,000 after purchasing an additional 200,074 shares in the last quarter. iSAM Funds UK Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Walker & Dunlop during the third quarter valued at $139,000. Glenmede Investment Management LP grew its stake in shares of Walker & Dunlop by 23.6% during the 3rd quarter. Glenmede Investment Management LP now owns 7,092 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $593,000 after purchasing an additional 1,353 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. increased its position in shares of Walker & Dunlop by 0.8% during the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 91,096 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $7,617,000 after purchasing an additional 682 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sei Investments Co. raised its position in shares of Walker & Dunlop by 75.5% during the 3rd quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 15,580 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,303,000 after buying an additional 6,702 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.97% of the company’s stock.

Walker & Dunlop Company Profile

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.