Bank of America Corp DE Buys 373,617 Shares of Walker & Dunlop, Inc. $WD

Key Points

• Bank of America acquired 373,617 Walker & Dunlop shares in the second quarter, worth approximately $20.4 million and representing a 1.09% stake. Institutional investors collectively own 80.97% of the company.
• Analyst sentiment remains generally positive, with five Buy ratings and one Sell rating producing a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and a $64 price target, although several analysts recently lowered their targets.
• Walker & Dunlop beat quarterly earnings expectations with EPS of $1.19 versus $0.90 expected, but revenue fell 3.9% year over year to $306.69 million. The company pays a $0.68 quarterly dividend, implying a 7.3% yield, though its payout ratio is elevated at 242.86%.

Bank of America Corp DE purchased a new stake in shares of Walker & Dunlop, Inc. (NYSE:WD - Free Report) in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 373,617 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $20,437,000. Bank of America Corp DE owned 1.09% of Walker & Dunlop as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Walker & Dunlop by 107.9% during the first quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 580 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 301 shares in the last quarter. Essential Partners LLC increased its position in Walker & Dunlop by 709.1% during the 1st quarter. Essential Partners LLC now owns 623 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 546 shares during the period. Quantbot Technologies LP bought a new position in Walker & Dunlop in the 2nd quarter worth $35,000. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd raised its holdings in Walker & Dunlop by 1,398.0% in the 4th quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 734 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $44,000 after purchasing an additional 685 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Huntington National Bank lifted its position in shares of Walker & Dunlop by 47.9% in the 4th quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 865 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $52,000 after purchasing an additional 280 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 80.97% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on WD shares. Citigroup reissued a "market outperform" rating on shares of Walker & Dunlop in a research note on Tuesday, August 18th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Walker & Dunlop from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, August 29th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their target price on Walker & Dunlop from $63.00 to $57.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, August 7th. Weiss Ratings lowered Walker & Dunlop from a "hold (c-)" rating to a "sell (d+)" rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 18th. Finally, Citizens Jmp lowered their target price on Walker & Dunlop from $70.00 to $55.00 and set a "market outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, August 18th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $64.00.

Walker & Dunlop Price Performance

Shares of NYSE WD opened at $37.27 on Friday. Walker & Dunlop, Inc. has a 1 year low of $36.56 and a 1 year high of $90.00. The stock has a market cap of $1.28 billion, a P/E 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 announced its earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The financial services provider reported $1.19 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.90 by $0.29. Walker & Dunlop had a net margin of 2.94% and a return on equity of 7.25%. The business had revenue of $306.69 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $337.37 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.15 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was down 3.9% on a year-over-year basis.

Walker & Dunlop Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 3rd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 20th were issued 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 presently 242.86%.

Walker & Dunlop 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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