Natixis Advisors LLC Purchases New Shares in Walker & Dunlop, Inc. (NYSE:WD)

Key Points

• Natixis Advisors LLC invested $1.16 million to acquire 13,587 shares of Walker & Dunlop, Inc., reflecting growing interest from institutional investors in the company.
• Walker & Dunlop's recent earnings report showed a revenue of $319.24 million, exceeding estimates, although it reported a miss on earnings per share at $1.15 versus the expected $1.29.
• The firm declared a quarterly dividend of $0.67 per share, with an annualized yield of 3.3%, indicating a healthy return to investors amid a competitive market landscape.

Natixis Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Walker & Dunlop, Inc. (NYSE:WD - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 13,587 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $1,160,000.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Walker & Dunlop by 2.4% in the first quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 160,069 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $13,663,000 after acquiring an additional 3,805 shares during the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Walker & Dunlop by 111.1% in the first quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 87,854 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $7,499,000 after acquiring an additional 46,229 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its holdings in Walker & Dunlop by 17.1% in the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 100,260 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $9,746,000 after acquiring an additional 14,647 shares during the last quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC bought a new position in Walker & Dunlop in the first quarter valued at about $219,000. Finally, Parallel Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Walker & Dunlop by 122.0% in the first quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 444 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $38,000 after acquiring an additional 244 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.97% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WD has been the topic of several recent research reports. Wall Street Zen upgraded Walker & Dunlop from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their target price on Walker & Dunlop from $105.00 to $95.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 17th.

Walker & Dunlop Stock Performance

NYSE:WD traded up $5.08 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $83.34. The company had a trading volume of 344,864 shares, compared to its average volume of 281,277. Walker & Dunlop, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $64.48 and a fifty-two week high of $118.19. The firm has a market cap of $2.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.72 and a beta of 1.57. The business's fifty day moving average is $73.04 and its two-hundred day moving average is $78.03.

Walker & Dunlop (NYSE:WD - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, August 7th. The financial services provider reported $1.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.29 by ($0.14). Walker & Dunlop had a net margin of 9.27% and a return on equity of 8.81%. The firm had revenue of $319.24 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $275.84 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.23 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 17.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts forecast that Walker & Dunlop, Inc. will post 4.97 earnings per share for the current year.

Walker & Dunlop Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 5th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 21st will be given a $0.67 dividend. This represents a $2.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 21st. Walker & Dunlop's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 82.72%.

Walker & Dunlop 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.