New Age Alpha Advisors LLC Invests $394,000 in Walker & Dunlop, Inc. (NYSE:WD)

Key Points

• New Age Alpha Advisors LLC has acquired 4,613 shares of Walker & Dunlop, valued at approximately $394,000, highlighting renewed interest in the stock among institutional investors.
• Walker & Dunlop reported $1.15 earnings per share in its last quarterly earnings, missing analysts' estimates of $1.29, but its revenue increased 17.9% year-over-year.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.67 per share, with a yield of 3.3%, indicating a commitment to returning capital to shareholders.

New Age Alpha Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Walker & Dunlop, Inc. (NYSE:WD - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 4,613 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $394,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Sterling Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Walker & Dunlop by 456.4% during the fourth quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 306 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 251 shares in the last quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in Walker & Dunlop during the first quarter valued at $27,000. Versant Capital Management Inc grew its stake in Walker & Dunlop by 90.5% during the first quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 383 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 182 shares in the last quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC lifted its position in Walker & Dunlop by 122.0% during the first quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 444 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 244 shares during the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its position in Walker & Dunlop by 26.1% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 764 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $65,000 after purchasing an additional 158 shares during the last quarter. 80.97% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have commented on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price objective on shares of Walker & Dunlop from $105.00 to $95.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Walker & Dunlop from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday.

Walker & Dunlop Stock Performance

WD stock traded up $5.08 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $83.34. 344,764 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 244,648. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $72.74 and a 200 day simple moving average of $77.99. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.72 and a beta of 1.57. Walker & Dunlop, Inc. has a 52 week low of $64.48 and a 52 week high of $118.19.

Walker & Dunlop (NYSE:WD - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, August 7th. The financial services provider reported $1.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.29 by ($0.14). The firm had revenue of $319.24 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 was up 17.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.23 EPS. 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 announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 5th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 21st will be issued a $0.67 dividend. This represents a $2.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.2%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 21st. Walker & Dunlop's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 82.72%.

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.