Walker & Dunlop (NYSE:WD) Downgraded to “Sell” Rating by Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Walker & Dunlop (NYSE:WD) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a report released on Saturday morning.

A number of other equities research analysts have also issued reports on the company. Citizens Jmp upgraded Walker & Dunlop from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $95.00 target price for the company in a research note on Friday, October 10th. JMP Securities set a $95.00 price target on Walker & Dunlop and gave the stock a “market outperform” rating in a report on Friday, October 10th. Wedbush reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $90.00 price objective on shares of Walker & Dunlop in a research note on Thursday, August 14th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on shares of Walker & Dunlop from $95.00 to $97.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 9th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Walker & Dunlop in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Walker & Dunlop has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $94.25.

Walker & Dunlop Trading Down 2.5%

Shares of Walker & Dunlop stock opened at $69.35 on Friday. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $82.91 and its 200 day moving average price is $77.36. Walker & Dunlop has a twelve month low of $64.48 and a twelve month high of $114.04. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.40 and a beta of 1.66.

Walker & Dunlop (NYSE:WD) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 6th. The financial services provider reported $1.22 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.21 by $0.01. Walker & Dunlop had a return on equity of 8.81% and a net margin of 9.27%.The company had revenue of $337.68 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $325.10 million. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.19 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 15.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Walker & Dunlop will post 4.97 EPS for the current year.

Walker & Dunlop Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 5th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 21st will be given a $0.67 dividend. This represents a $2.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 21st. Walker & Dunlop’s dividend payout ratio is presently 79.53%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Walker & Dunlop

In related news, EVP Paula A. Pryor sold 5,336 shares of Walker & Dunlop stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 9,341 shares in the company, valued at approximately $805,194.20. The trade was a 36.36% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 3.66% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in WD. Arizona State Retirement System increased its position in shares of Walker & Dunlop by 1.4% in the 3rd quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 10,055 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $841,000 after purchasing an additional 142 shares during the last quarter. Kestra Advisory Services LLC increased its holdings in Walker & Dunlop by 1.2% in the first quarter. Kestra Advisory Services LLC now owns 12,426 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,061,000 after buying an additional 148 shares during the last quarter. Yousif Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Walker & Dunlop by 1.4% in the second quarter. Yousif Capital Management LLC now owns 12,006 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $846,000 after buying an additional 167 shares during the last quarter. Profund Advisors LLC raised its stake in Walker & Dunlop by 6.5% during the second quarter. Profund Advisors LLC now owns 2,982 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $210,000 after buying an additional 183 shares in the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in Walker & Dunlop by 65.7% during the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 479 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $40,000 after buying an additional 190 shares in the last quarter. 80.97% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.