Walker & Dunlop (WD) Competitors

Walker & Dunlop (NYSE:WD) and Cathay General Bancorp (NASDAQ:CATY) are both mid-cap finance companies, but which is the superior business? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their earnings, profitability, media sentiment, valuation, institutional ownership, analyst recommendations, risk and dividends.

Does the media favor WD or CATY?

In the previous week, Walker & Dunlop had 11 more articles in the media than Cathay General Bancorp. MarketBeat recorded 17 mentions for Walker & Dunlop and 6 mentions for Cathay General Bancorp. Cathay General Bancorp's average media sentiment score of 0.70 beat Walker & Dunlop's score of 0.56 indicating that Cathay General Bancorp is being referred to more favorably in the news media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
Walker & Dunlop	3 Very Positive mention(s)	3 Positive mention(s)	8 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive
Cathay General Bancorp	1 Very Positive mention(s)	1 Positive mention(s)	2 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive

Do analysts rate WD or CATY?

Walker & Dunlop currently has a consensus price target of $94.25, suggesting a potential upside of 13.25%. Cathay General Bancorp has a consensus price target of $50.17, suggesting a potential upside of 1.70%. Given Walker & Dunlop's stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, research analysts clearly believe Walker & Dunlop is more favorable than Cathay General Bancorp.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Walker & Dunlop	0 Sell rating(s)	2 Hold rating(s)	4 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.67
Cathay General Bancorp	1 Sell rating(s)	3 Hold rating(s)	3 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.29

Do insiders and institutionals have more ownership in WD or CATY?

81.0% of Walker & Dunlop shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 75.0% of Cathay General Bancorp shares are held by institutional investors. 3.7% of Walker & Dunlop shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 4.8% of Cathay General Bancorp shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Is WD or CATY a better dividend stock?

Walker & Dunlop pays an annual dividend of $2.68 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.2%. Cathay General Bancorp pays an annual dividend of $1.36 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.8%. Walker & Dunlop pays out 82.7% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. Cathay General Bancorp pays out 32.9% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Walker & Dunlop has raised its dividend for 7 consecutive years. Walker & Dunlop is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.

Which has higher earnings and valuation, WD or CATY?

Cathay General Bancorp has higher revenue and earnings than Walker & Dunlop. Cathay General Bancorp is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Walker & Dunlop, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Company	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Walker & Dunlop	$1.19B	2.38	$108.17M	$3.24	25.69
Cathay General Bancorp	$1.39B	2.45	$285.98M	$4.14	11.92

Is WD or CATY more profitable?

Cathay General Bancorp has a net margin of 21.44% compared to Walker & Dunlop's net margin of 9.27%. Cathay General Bancorp's return on equity of 10.39% beat Walker & Dunlop's return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Walker & Dunlop	9.27%	8.81%	3.40%
Cathay General Bancorp	21.44%	10.39%	1.27%

Which has more risk & volatility, WD or CATY?

Walker & Dunlop has a beta of 1.59, suggesting that its share price is 59% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Cathay General Bancorp has a beta of 0.94, suggesting that its share price is 6% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

Walker & Dunlop beats Cathay General Bancorp on 10 of the 19 factors compared between the two stocks.