Walker & Dunlop, Inc. (NYSE:WD) Given Consensus Recommendation of "Moderate Buy" by Analysts

Key Points

• Walker & Dunlop, Inc. (NYSE:WD) has received a consensus recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from five ratings firms, with an average price target of $94.25 among analysts.
• The company reported a quarterly earnings miss with earnings per share of $1.15, falling short of the estimated $1.29, while its revenue rose significantly to $319.24 million.
• Walker & Dunlop's quarterly dividend of $0.67 translates to an annual yield of 3.3%, with a payout ratio of 82.72% as per their recent announcement.

Shares of Walker & Dunlop, Inc. (NYSE:WD - Get Free Report) have earned an average rating of "Moderate Buy" from the five ratings firms that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and three have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 12 month price objective among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $94.25.

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Wedbush restated a "neutral" rating and issued a $90.00 price target on shares of Walker & Dunlop in a research report on Thursday, August 14th. JMP Securities set a $95.00 price target on shares of Walker & Dunlop and gave the stock a "market outperform" rating in a research note on Friday. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Walker & Dunlop from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, August 9th. Citizens Jmp raised shares of Walker & Dunlop from a "market perform" rating to a "mkt outperform" rating and set a $95.00 price target for the company in a research note on Friday. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Walker & Dunlop in a research note on Wednesday.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Paula A. Pryor sold 5,336 shares of Walker & Dunlop stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $86.20, for a total value of $459,963.20. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 9,341 shares of the company's stock, valued at $805,194.20. The trade was a 36.36% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 3.66% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in WD. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. increased its position in shares of Walker & Dunlop by 30.7% in the first quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 13,189 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,126,000 after acquiring an additional 3,100 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in Walker & Dunlop by 26.1% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 764 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $65,000 after purchasing an additional 158 shares in the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC bought a new stake in Walker & Dunlop in the first quarter worth approximately $482,000. NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC bought a new stake in Walker & Dunlop in the first quarter worth approximately $314,000. Finally, Janney Montgomery Scott LLC bought a new stake in Walker & Dunlop in the first quarter worth approximately $219,000. 80.97% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Walker & Dunlop Stock Up 2.3%

Shares of Walker & Dunlop stock traded up $1.85 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $82.41. The company's stock had a trading volume of 14,699 shares, compared to its average volume of 239,343. Walker & Dunlop has a 1-year low of $64.48 and a 1-year high of $118.19. The business has a fifty day moving average of $83.45 and a 200 day moving average of $76.93. The company has a market capitalization of $2.81 billion, a PE ratio of 25.45 and a beta of 1.59.

Walker & Dunlop (NYSE:WD - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 7th. The financial services provider reported $1.15 earnings per share 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $275.84 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.23 earnings per share. Walker & Dunlop's revenue for the quarter was up 17.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Walker & Dunlop will post 4.97 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Walker & Dunlop Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 5th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 21st were paid a $0.67 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, August 21st. This represents a $2.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.3%. Walker & Dunlop's payout ratio is currently 82.72%.

About Walker & Dunlop

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.

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