Walker & Dunlop (NYSE:WD) Rating Increased to Hold at Wall Street Zen

Key Points

• Walker & Dunlop was upgraded by Wall Street Zen from a "strong sell" to a "hold" rating, indicating a more favorable outlook for the company's stock.
• Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price target for Walker & Dunlop from $105.00 to $95.00, maintaining an "outperform" rating.
• The company reported a quarterly earnings per share (EPS) of $1.15, which missed expectations, but achieved a revenue increase of 17.9% year-over-year.

Walker & Dunlop (NYSE:WD - Get Free Report) was upgraded by analysts at Wall Street Zen from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note issued to investors on Saturday.

Separately, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their target price on shares of Walker & Dunlop from $105.00 to $95.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 17th.

Walker & Dunlop Trading Up 6.3%

Shares of WD stock traded up $4.90 on Friday, hitting $83.16. The stock had a trading volume of 170,729 shares, compared to its average volume of 243,408. Walker & Dunlop has a twelve month low of $64.48 and a twelve month high of $118.19. The firm has a market cap of $2.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.71 and a beta of 1.57. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $72.74 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $77.99.

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 for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.29 by ($0.14). The company had revenue of $319.24 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $275.84 million. Walker & Dunlop had a return on equity of 8.81% and a net margin of 9.27%. Walker & Dunlop's revenue for the quarter was up 17.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.23 earnings per share. On average, analysts expect that Walker & Dunlop will post 4.97 earnings per share for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Walker & Dunlop

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of WD. First Horizon Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Walker & Dunlop during the 1st quarter worth about $27,000. Sterling Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Walker & Dunlop by 456.4% during the 4th quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 306 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 251 shares during the last quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Walker & Dunlop during the 1st quarter worth about $32,000. Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its stake in shares of Walker & Dunlop by 90.5% during the 1st quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 383 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 182 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Allworth Financial LP raised its holdings in shares of Walker & Dunlop by 115.8% in the 2nd quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 479 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 257 shares during the period. 80.97% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.