Walker & Dunlop, Inc. (NYSE:WD) Stock Rated "Moderate Buy" by Wall Street Brokerages

Key Points

• Walker & Dunlop has a “Moderate Buy” consensus among six analysts, with five buy ratings and one sell rating. The average 12-month price target is $59.75, well above the stock’s reported $31.61 opening price.
• Institutional investors hold approximately 80.97% of the company’s shares; BlackRock and Jupiter Topco each established significant new positions, while several other funds increased their stakes.
• The company beat quarterly earnings expectations, reporting $1.19 in adjusted earnings per share versus a $0.90 estimate, although revenue fell 3.9% year over year. Walker & Dunlop also paid a $0.68 quarterly dividend, equivalent to an annualized yield of 8.6%.

Shares of Walker & Dunlop, Inc. (NYSE:WD - Get Free Report) have received a consensus recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from the six analysts that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation and five have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month price objective among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $59.75.

Several analysts have weighed in on WD shares. Citigroup reiterated a "market outperform" rating on shares of Walker & Dunlop in a research note on Friday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price target on shares of Walker & Dunlop from $57.00 to $45.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 9th. Weiss Ratings downgraded Walker & Dunlop from a "hold (c-)" rating to a "sell (d+)" rating in a report on Tuesday, August 18th. Citizens Jmp reduced their target price on Walker & Dunlop from $55.00 to $50.00 and set a "market outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Friday. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Walker & Dunlop from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, August 29th.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Walker & Dunlop

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. BlackRock Inc. bought a new position in shares of Walker & Dunlop in the second quarter valued at approximately $289,614,000. Jupiter Topco LLC bought a new position in shares of Walker & Dunlop in the second quarter worth approximately $63,434,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position in Walker & Dunlop by 8.2% during the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,369,114 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $60,760,000 after purchasing an additional 104,008 shares during the last quarter. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. lifted its position in shares of Walker & Dunlop by 3.7% in the 2nd quarter. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. now owns 555,439 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $30,383,000 after purchasing an additional 19,988 shares during the period. Finally, Conversant Capital LLC grew its stake in Walker & Dunlop by 33.0% in the first quarter. Conversant Capital LLC now owns 560,316 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $24,867,000 after purchasing an additional 138,936 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 80.97% of the company's stock.

Walker & Dunlop Price Performance

Shares of Walker & Dunlop stock opened at $31.61 on Tuesday. The firm's 50-day moving average is $38.28 and its 200 day moving average is $46.05. Walker & Dunlop has a 1 year low of $31.40 and a 1 year high of $90.00. The stock has a market cap of $1.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.22 and a beta of 1.52.

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 for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.90 by $0.29. The company had revenue of $306.69 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $337.37 million. Walker & Dunlop had a net margin of 2.94% and a return on equity of 7.25%. The company's revenue was down 3.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.15 earnings per share.

Walker & Dunlop Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 3rd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 20th were given a $0.68 dividend. This represents a $2.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 8.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, August 20th. Walker & Dunlop's dividend payout ratio is presently 242.86%.

About Walker & Dunlop

Walker & Dunlop, Inc NYSE: WD is a commercial real estate finance and advisory company that provides capital and transaction services to property owners, investors, developers and other real estate participants. The company serves clients across major commercial property sectors, including multifamily, office, retail, industrial, hospitality and healthcare.

Its services include commercial real estate lending, debt and equity financing, investment sales, property sales, loan servicing, valuation and advisory services.

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