Walker & Dunlop (NYSE:WD) Stock Breaks Above 50 Day Moving Average After Analyst Downgrade

Key Points

• Walker & Dunlop shares rose above their 50-day moving average of $36.69, reaching $38.90 intraday and last trading at $38.565. Wall Street Zen upgraded the stock from sell to hold.
• Analyst views remain mixed: five analysts rate WD a Buy and one a Sell, with a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an average price target of $59.25. Several analysts recently cut their price targets.
• The company reported quarterly EPS of $1.19, beating the $0.90 consensus, but revenue of $306.69 million came in below estimates and fell 3.9% year over year.

Shares of Walker & Dunlop, Inc. (NYSE:WD - Get Free Report) crossed above its 50 day moving average during trading on Wednesday after Wall Street Zen upgraded the stock from a sell rating to a hold rating. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $36.69 and traded as high as $38.90. Walker & Dunlop shares last traded at $38.5650, with a volume of 812,956 shares traded.

A number of other equities analysts have also weighed in on WD. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their target price on shares of Walker & Dunlop from $63.00 to $57.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, August 7th. Weiss Ratings downgraded Walker & Dunlop from a "hold (c-)" rating to a "sell (d+)" rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 18th. Citigroup restated a "market outperform" rating on shares of Walker & Dunlop in a report on Tuesday, August 18th. Finally, Citizens Jmp reduced their price objective on 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. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $59.25.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. BlackRock Inc. bought a new stake in Walker & Dunlop during the second quarter worth $289,614,000. Jupiter Topco LLC bought a new position in shares of Walker & Dunlop in the 2nd quarter valued at about $63,434,000. Bank of America Corp DE bought a new position in shares of Walker & Dunlop in the 2nd quarter valued at about $20,437,000. CenterBook Partners LP bought a new position in shares of Walker & Dunlop in the 3rd quarter valued at about $6,795,000. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp acquired a new position in shares of Walker & Dunlop during the 2nd quarter worth about $10,454,000. 80.97% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Walker & Dunlop Trading Up 9.7%

The company has a market capitalization of $1.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.43 and a beta of 1.48. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $36.69 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $47.62.

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, beating the consensus estimate 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 period last year, the business posted $1.15 EPS. Walker & Dunlop's revenue was down 3.9% on a year-over-year basis.

Walker & Dunlop Company Profile

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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