Walker & Dunlop (WD) Competitors

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

Which has more risk and volatility, WD or CATY?

Walker & Dunlop has a beta of 1.54, meaning that its share price is 54% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Cathay General Bancorp has a beta of 0.93, meaning that its share price is 7% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Do institutionals and insiders hold more shares of WD or CATY?

81.0% of Walker & Dunlop shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 75.0% of Cathay General Bancorp shares are owned by institutional investors. 3.7% of Walker & Dunlop shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 4.9% of Cathay General Bancorp shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Which has preferable valuation and earnings, 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	$1.13B	2.22	$108.17M	$2.92	25.37
Cathay General Bancorp	$1.39B	2.41	$285.98M	$3.96	12.05

Does the media refer more to WD or CATY?

In the previous week, Cathay General Bancorp had 5 more articles in the media than Walker & Dunlop. MarketBeat recorded 9 mentions for Cathay General Bancorp and 4 mentions for Walker & Dunlop. Cathay General Bancorp's average media sentiment score of 0.97 beat Walker & Dunlop's score of 0.38 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	1 Very Positive mention(s)	0 Positive mention(s)	3 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Neutral
Cathay General Bancorp	3 Very Positive mention(s)	1 Positive mention(s)	2 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive

Do analysts prefer WD or CATY?

Walker & Dunlop currently has a consensus price target of $102.50, indicating a potential upside of 38.38%. Cathay General Bancorp has a consensus price target of $50.17, indicating a potential upside of 5.11%. Given Walker & Dunlop's stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, equities 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)	1 Hold rating(s)	1 Buy rating(s)	1 Strong Buy rating(s)	3.00
Cathay General Bancorp	1 Sell rating(s)	2 Hold rating(s)	3 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.33

Is WD or CATY more profitable?

Cathay General Bancorp has a net margin of 20.55% compared to Walker & Dunlop's net margin of 8.68%. Cathay General Bancorp's return on equity of 10.23% beat Walker & Dunlop's return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Walker & Dunlop	8.68%	8.99%	3.56%
Cathay General Bancorp	20.55%	10.23%	1.25%

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 3.6%. Cathay General Bancorp pays an annual dividend of $1.36 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.8%. Walker & Dunlop pays out 91.8% 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 34.3% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Walker & Dunlop has increased 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.

Summary

Cathay General Bancorp beats Walker & Dunlop on 11 of the 20 factors compared between the two stocks.