Walker & Dunlop, Inc. (NYSE:WD) Stock Has Consensus Price Target of $64.00

Key Points

• Analysts have a “Moderate Buy” consensus on Walker & Dunlop, with five buy ratings and one sell rating. The average 12-month price target is $64.00, well above the stock’s reported price of $37.27.
• Institutional investors own 80.97% of the company, with BlackRock and several other major financial institutions establishing new positions during the second quarter.
• Walker & Dunlop exceeded quarterly EPS expectations, reporting $1.19 versus the $0.90 consensus, though revenue fell 3.9% year over year. The company’s $0.68 quarterly dividend represents a 7.3% yield, but its payout ratio is elevated at 242.86%.

Walker & Dunlop, Inc. (NYSE:WD - Get Free Report) has earned a consensus recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from the six brokerages that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 12-month target price among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $64.00.

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their target price on shares of Walker & Dunlop from $63.00 to $57.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, August 7th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Walker & Dunlop from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, August 29th. Weiss Ratings downgraded Walker & Dunlop from a "hold (c-)" rating to a "sell (d+)" rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 18th. Citizens Jmp dropped their price objective on Walker & Dunlop from $70.00 to $55.00 and set a "market outperform" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, August 18th. Finally, Citigroup reissued a "market outperform" rating on shares of Walker & Dunlop in a report on Tuesday, August 18th.

Institutional Trading of Walker & Dunlop

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new position in Walker & Dunlop during the 2nd quarter worth about $289,614,000. Jupiter Topco LLC bought a new stake in Walker & Dunlop in the second quarter valued at approximately $63,434,000. Bank of America Corp DE acquired a new stake in Walker & Dunlop during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $20,437,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp acquired a new stake in Walker & Dunlop during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $10,454,000. Finally, Deutsche Bank AG bought a new position in Walker & Dunlop during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $8,532,000. Institutional investors own 80.97% of the company's stock.

Walker & Dunlop Stock Performance

NYSE WD opened at $37.27 on Friday. Walker & Dunlop has a 52-week low of $36.56 and a 52-week high of $90.00. The stock has a market cap of $1.28 billion, a PE ratio of 33.28 and a beta of 1.45. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $43.22 and a 200-day moving average of $47.39.

Walker & Dunlop (NYSE:WD - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 6th. The financial services provider reported $1.19 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.90 by $0.29. The firm had revenue of $306.69 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $337.37 million. Walker & Dunlop had a net margin of 2.94% and a return on equity of 7.25%. The business's revenue for the quarter was down 3.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.15 earnings per share.

Walker & Dunlop Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 3rd. Investors of record on Thursday, August 20th were given a dividend of $0.68 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, August 20th. This represents a $2.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 7.3%. Walker & Dunlop's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 242.86%.

Walker & Dunlop Company Profile

Walker & Dunlop, Inc is a commercial real estate finance and advisory firm headquartered in Bethesda, Maryland. The company provides financing, investment sales, capital markets, investment banking, valuation, research, and property brokerage services to owners, investors, developers, and other participants in the commercial real estate industry.

Its financing activities include arranging debt and equity for multifamily, office, industrial, retail, hospitality, and other commercial properties.

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