Walker & Dunlop, Inc. $WD Stock: ARGA Investment Management LP Increases Position

Key Points

• ARGA Investment Management increased its Walker & Dunlop stake by 95.2% in the third quarter, ending with 69,535 shares valued at about $2.44 million. Institutional investors and hedge funds collectively own approximately 81% of the stock.
• Walker & Dunlop reported quarterly EPS of $1.19, beating the $0.90 analyst consensus, but revenue of $306.7 million fell short of expectations and declined 3.9% year over year.
• Analyst sentiment is mixed but leans positive: MarketBeat reports a “Moderate Buy” consensus and a $59.25 average price target, while the stock recently opened at $35.16.

ARGA Investment Management LP boosted its position in shares of Walker & Dunlop, Inc. (NYSE:WD - Free Report) by 95.2% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 69,535 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 33,906 shares during the period. ARGA Investment Management LP owned 0.20% of Walker & Dunlop worth $2,441,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. State of Wyoming purchased a new position in Walker & Dunlop during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $106,000. Choreo LLC boosted its position in Walker & Dunlop by 53.0% during the third quarter. Choreo LLC now owns 8,775 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $308,000 after purchasing an additional 3,039 shares in the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC boosted its position in Walker & Dunlop by 108.2% during the third quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 1,070 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 556 shares in the last quarter. Tidal Investments LLC acquired a new stake in Walker & Dunlop in the second quarter valued at approximately $405,000. Finally, Engineers Gate Manager LP acquired a new stake in Walker & Dunlop in the second quarter valued at approximately $673,000. 80.97% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Walker & Dunlop Stock Performance

Shares of WD stock opened at $35.16 on Wednesday. The stock's 50-day moving average is $36.73 and its two-hundred day moving average is $47.76. Walker & Dunlop, Inc. has a 1 year low of $31.40 and a 1 year high of $81.11. The firm has a market cap of $1.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.64 and a beta of 1.48.

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have weighed in on WD. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Walker & Dunlop from a "hold (c-)" rating to a "sell (d+)" rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 18th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price objective on Walker & Dunlop from $45.00 to $43.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday. Wall Street Zen upgraded Walker & Dunlop from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, August 29th. Citigroup reissued a "market outperform" rating on shares of Walker & Dunlop in a report on Friday, October 16th. Finally, Citizens Jmp decreased their target price on Walker & Dunlop from $55.00 to $50.00 and set a "market outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, October 16th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Walker & Dunlop presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $59.25.

About Walker & Dunlop

Walker & Dunlop, Inc is a commercial real estate finance and advisory firm serving property owners, investors and developers across the United States. The company provides financing, investment sales, valuation, research and advisory services for a broad range of commercial real estate assets, including multifamily, office, industrial, retail, hospitality and senior housing properties.

Its financing business arranges debt and equity solutions through relationships with banks, life insurance companies, government-sponsored enterprises and other capital providers.

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