Walker & Dunlop (NYSE:WD) Hits New 12-Month Low - Here's What Happened

Key Points

• Walker & Dunlop shares hit a new 52-week low, falling to $33.21 during Monday trading, well below the 50-day and 200-day moving averages of $41.74 and $46.92.
• Analyst sentiment remains mostly positive but has weakened: five analysts rate the stock Buy and one rates it Sell, producing a “Moderate Buy” consensus and an average price target of $64, while several firms recently cut their targets.
• The company beat quarterly EPS expectations, reporting $1.19 versus the $0.90 estimate, but revenue declined 3.9% year over year. Walker & Dunlop also pays a quarterly dividend of $0.68, equivalent to an annualized yield of about 8.1%.

Walker & Dunlop, Inc. (NYSE:WD - Get Free Report)'s stock price hit a new 52-week low during mid-day trading on Monday. The company traded as low as $33.21 and last traded at $33.3650, with a volume of 9194 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $33.97.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Citigroup reaffirmed a "market outperform" rating on shares of Walker & Dunlop in a research note on Tuesday, August 18th. 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 target price on shares of Walker & Dunlop from $63.00 to $57.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Friday, August 7th. Citizens Jmp dropped their price target on shares of Walker & Dunlop from $70.00 to $55.00 and set a "market outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, August 18th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of Walker & Dunlop from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, August 29th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $64.00.

Walker & Dunlop Stock Performance

The business has a fifty day moving average price of $41.74 and a 200 day moving average price of $46.92. The company has a market capitalization of $1.15 billion, a PE ratio of 29.85 and a beta of 1.52.

Walker & Dunlop (NYSE:WD - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The financial services provider reported $1.19 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.90 by $0.29. The business 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 company'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 EPS.

Walker & Dunlop Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 3rd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 20th were paid a $0.68 dividend. This represents a $2.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 8.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, August 20th. Walker & Dunlop's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 242.86%.

Institutional Trading of Walker & Dunlop

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in WD. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new position in Walker & Dunlop in the second quarter valued at about $289,614,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its stake in shares of Walker & Dunlop by 8.2% in the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,369,114 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $60,760,000 after buying an additional 104,008 shares in the last quarter. Jupiter Topco LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Walker & Dunlop during the 2nd quarter valued at about $63,434,000. Conversant Capital LLC raised its holdings in shares of Walker & Dunlop by 33.0% during the 1st quarter. Conversant Capital LLC now owns 560,316 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $24,867,000 after buying an additional 138,936 shares during the period. Finally, Alyeska Investment Group L.P. lifted its position in Walker & Dunlop by 3.7% during 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 acquiring an additional 19,988 shares in the last quarter. 80.97% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.