Walker & Dunlop (NYSE:WD) Shares Cross Above Two Hundred Day Moving Average – Here’s Why

Walker & Dunlop, Inc. (NYSE:WD) shares crossed above its 200-day moving average during trading on Monday . The stock has a 200-day moving average of $76.76 and traded as high as $82.99. Walker & Dunlop shares last traded at $82.71, with a volume of 71,075 shares traded.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Citigroup raised shares of Walker & Dunlop to an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, October 10th. Citizens Jmp raised shares of Walker & Dunlop from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $95.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 10th. Wedbush reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $90.00 price objective on shares of Walker & Dunlop in a research note on Thursday, August 14th. JMP Securities set a $95.00 price objective on shares of Walker & Dunlop and gave the company a “market outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, October 10th. Finally, 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. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $94.25.

Walker & Dunlop Price Performance

The stock has a market cap of $2.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.53 and a beta of 1.59. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $84.13 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $76.76.

Walker & Dunlop (NYSE:WD) last issued 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). Walker & Dunlop had a net margin of 9.27% and a return on equity of 8.81%. The company had revenue of $319.24 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $275.84 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.23 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 17.9% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that Walker & Dunlop, Inc. will post 4.97 earnings per share for the current year.

Walker & Dunlop Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 5th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 21st were given a $0.67 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, August 21st. This represents a $2.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.2%. Walker & Dunlop’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 82.72%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Walker & Dunlop news, EVP Paula A. Pryor sold 5,336 shares of the firm’s 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 sale, the executive vice president owned 9,341 shares in the company, valued at $805,194.20. This trade represents a 36.36% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 3.66% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Walker & Dunlop

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of WD. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Walker & Dunlop during the second quarter worth $30,422,000. Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Walker & Dunlop by 147.7% during the third quarter. Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. now owns 537,338 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $44,932,000 after purchasing an additional 320,425 shares during the period. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Walker & Dunlop during the first quarter worth $22,363,000. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. acquired a new position in shares of Walker & Dunlop during the second quarter worth $15,147,000. Finally, Royce & Associates LP lifted its holdings in shares of Walker & Dunlop by 257.2% during the first quarter. Royce & Associates LP now owns 282,688 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $24,130,000 after purchasing an additional 203,542 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.97% of the company’s stock.

Walker & Dunlop Company 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.