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

Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reissued their market perform rating on shares of Walker & Dunlop (NYSE:WD) in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a $105.00 price target on the financial services provider’s stock.

A number of other research analysts also recently weighed in on the company. Wedbush reissued an outperform rating and issued a $130.00 target price on shares of Walker & Dunlop in a report on Friday, February 16th. StockNews.com downgraded Walker & Dunlop from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research note on Friday, March 22nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of Hold and an average price target of $117.50.

Walker & Dunlop Stock Performance

WD stock opened at $101.06 on Tuesday. Walker & Dunlop has a fifty-two week low of $61.06 and a fifty-two week high of $113.67. The business’s 50-day moving average is $95.29 and its two-hundred day moving average is $88.36. The company has a market cap of $3.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.78 and a beta of 1.52.

Walker & Dunlop (NYSE:WD) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 15th. The financial services provider reported $1.42 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.04 by $0.38. Walker & Dunlop had a return on equity of 9.15% and a net margin of 10.18%. The company had revenue of $274.30 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $276.76 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.41 earnings per share. Walker & Dunlop’s revenue was down 3.0% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts predict that Walker & Dunlop will post 4.31 earnings per share for the current year.

Walker & Dunlop Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 1st were paid a $0.65 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 29th. This represents a $2.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.57%. This is an increase from Walker & Dunlop’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.63. Walker & Dunlop’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 81.76%.

Insider Transactions at Walker & Dunlop

In other news, EVP Paula A. Pryor sold 1,908 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $94.09, for a total value of $179,523.72. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 3,707 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $348,791.63. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, Director Howard W. Smith III sold 20,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 9th. The stock was 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $18,765,868.92. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Paula A. Pryor sold 1,908 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $94.09, for a total value of $179,523.72. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 3,707 shares in the company, valued at $348,791.63. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 66,074 shares of company stock valued at $6,288,055 over the last quarter. 5.47% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in WD. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC increased its stake in Walker & Dunlop by 16.6% in the 3rd quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 296,015 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $21,976,000 after acquiring an additional 42,160 shares during the last quarter. Moody Aldrich Partners LLC bought a new stake in Walker & Dunlop in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $3,644,000. Deutsche Bank AG increased its stake in Walker & Dunlop by 2.2% in the 3rd quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 90,860 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $6,745,000 after acquiring an additional 1,995 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in Walker & Dunlop by 9.8% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 395,695 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $29,376,000 after acquiring an additional 35,454 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Advisor OS LLC increased its position in shares of Walker & Dunlop by 115.7% during the 3rd quarter. Advisor OS LLC now owns 19,136 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,421,000 after purchasing an additional 10,264 shares during the last quarter. 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.