Walker & Dunlop (NYSE:WD) Stock Gets Price Target Cut from Keefe, Bruyette & Woods

Walker & Dunlop (NYSE:WD) had its price objective decreased by Keefe, Bruyette & Woods from $57.00 to $45.00 in a research note released on Friday morning,Benzinga reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods currently has an outperform rating on the financial services provider’s stock.

WD has been the subject of a number of other research reports. Citizens Jmp cut their price target on shares of Walker & Dunlop from $70.00 to $55.00 and set a “market outperform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, August 18th. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Walker & Dunlop from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 18th. Citigroup reissued a “market outperform” rating on shares of Walker & Dunlop in a report on Tuesday, August 18th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Walker & Dunlop from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, August 29th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $61.00.

Walker & Dunlop Price Performance

Shares of WD stock opened at $33.08 on Friday. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $40.16 and its 200 day moving average price is $46.55. Walker & Dunlop has a 1-year low of $32.77 and a 1-year high of $90.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.14 billion, a PE ratio of 29.54 and a beta of 1.52.

Walker & Dunlop (NYSE:WD) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 6th. The financial services provider reported $1.19 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.90 by $0.29. Walker & Dunlop had a return on equity of 7.25% and a net margin of 2.94%. The firm had revenue of $306.69 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $337.37 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.15 earnings per share. Walker & Dunlop’s revenue was down 3.9% compared to the same quarter last year.

Walker & Dunlop Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 3rd. Investors of record on Thursday, August 20th were paid a $0.68 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, August 20th. This represents a $2.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 8.2%. Walker & Dunlop’s payout ratio is presently 242.86%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in WD. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new stake in Walker & Dunlop during the second quarter worth approximately $289,614,000. Jupiter Topco LLC purchased a new stake in Walker & Dunlop in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $63,434,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its holdings in Walker & Dunlop by 8.2% in the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,369,114 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $60,760,000 after acquiring an additional 104,008 shares during the last quarter. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. raised its holdings in Walker & Dunlop by 3.7% in the 2nd quarter. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. now owns 555,439 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $30,383,000 after acquiring an additional 19,988 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Conversant Capital LLC raised its holdings in Walker & Dunlop by 33.0% in the 1st quarter. Conversant Capital LLC now owns 560,316 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $24,867,000 after acquiring an additional 138,936 shares during the last quarter. 80.97% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Walker & Dunlop

Walker & Dunlop, Inc (NYSE: WD) is a commercial real estate finance and advisory company that provides capital and transaction services to property owners, investors, developers and other real estate participants. The company serves clients across major commercial property sectors, including multifamily, office, retail, industrial, hospitality and healthcare.

Its services include commercial real estate lending, debt and equity financing, investment sales, property sales, loan servicing, valuation and advisory services.