Lighthouse Investment Partners LLC Invests $909,000 in Walker & Dunlop, Inc. (NYSE:WD)

Lighthouse Investment Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Walker & Dunlop, Inc. (NYSE:WD) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm purchased 9,351 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $909,000.

A number of other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Versor Investments LP boosted its stake in shares of Walker & Dunlop by 3.8% during the fourth quarter. Versor Investments LP now owns 3,426 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $333,000 after purchasing an additional 126 shares during the period. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. increased its position in shares of Walker & Dunlop by 5.9% in the fourth quarter. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 3,362 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $327,000 after acquiring an additional 187 shares during the period. Sage Mountain Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Walker & Dunlop by 8.7% during the fourth quarter. Sage Mountain Advisors LLC now owns 2,380 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $231,000 after acquiring an additional 190 shares during the last quarter. Xponance Inc. grew its stake in shares of Walker & Dunlop by 9.5% in the fourth quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 2,308 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $224,000 after purchasing an additional 201 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mariner LLC grew its position in shares of Walker & Dunlop by 4.6% in the 4th quarter. Mariner LLC now owns 4,886 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $475,000 after buying an additional 213 shares during the last quarter. 80.97% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on WD. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their target price on shares of Walker & Dunlop from $105.00 to $95.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. StockNews.com cut Walker & Dunlop from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th.

Walker & Dunlop Trading Down 2.2%

Shares of Walker & Dunlop stock opened at $74.24 on Thursday. Walker & Dunlop, Inc. has a 12 month low of $69.59 and a 12 month high of $118.19. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.27 and a beta of 1.64. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $78.79 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $91.80.

Walker & Dunlop (NYSE:WD) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 1st. The financial services provider reported $0.85 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.98 by ($0.13). The business had revenue of $237.37 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $260.43 million. Walker & Dunlop had a return on equity of 9.64% and a net margin of 9.55%. The company’s revenue was up 4.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.35 EPS. Analysts predict that Walker & Dunlop, Inc. will post 4.97 earnings per share for the current year.

Walker & Dunlop Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 29th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 15th will be given a $0.67 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 15th. This represents a $2.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.61%. Walker & Dunlop’s dividend payout ratio is currently 91.78%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Walker & Dunlop news, CEO William M. Walker acquired 17,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 6th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $86.21 per share, with a total value of $1,508,675.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 411,271 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $35,455,672.91. The trade was a 4.44% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 3.66% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Walker & Dunlop Profile

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.