Walker & Dunlop (NYSE:WD) Hits New 12-Month Low – Should You Sell?

Walker & Dunlop, Inc. (NYSE:WD) hit a new 52-week low during mid-day trading on Friday . The company traded as low as $64.47 and last traded at $64.8350, with a volume of 27062 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $65.61.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WD has been the subject of several recent research reports. Wall Street Zen lowered Walker & Dunlop from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday, November 8th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Walker & Dunlop in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. JMP Securities set a $95.00 target price on shares of Walker & Dunlop and gave the stock a “market outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, October 10th. 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, Citizens Jmp upgraded Walker & Dunlop from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $95.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Friday, October 10th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Walker & Dunlop presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $94.25.

Walker & Dunlop Stock Performance

The business’s 50 day moving average price is $81.57 and its 200 day moving average price is $77.09. The firm has a market cap of $2.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.09 and a beta of 1.66.

Walker & Dunlop (NYSE:WD) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 6th. The financial services provider reported $1.22 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.21 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $337.68 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $325.10 million. Walker & Dunlop had a return on equity of 8.81% and a net margin of 9.27%.The company’s revenue was up 15.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.19 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Walker & Dunlop, Inc. will post 4.97 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Walker & Dunlop Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 5th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 21st will be given a dividend of $0.67 per share. This represents a $2.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 21st. Walker & Dunlop’s payout ratio is presently 79.53%.

Insider Activity at Walker & Dunlop

In other Walker & Dunlop news, EVP Paula A. Pryor sold 5,336 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $86.20, for a total transaction of $459,963.20. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 9,341 shares in the company, valued at approximately $805,194.20. The trade was a 36.36% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Company insiders own 3.66% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Walker & Dunlop

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of WD. Teacher Retirement System of Texas bought a new position in Walker & Dunlop during the 1st quarter worth about $421,000. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Walker & Dunlop by 111.1% in the 1st quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 87,854 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $7,499,000 after purchasing an additional 46,229 shares during the period. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Walker & Dunlop by 3.3% in the 1st quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC now owns 36,481 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,114,000 after acquiring an additional 1,157 shares in the last quarter. Tributary Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Walker & Dunlop in the first quarter worth about $12,111,000. Finally, Allianz Asset Management GmbH raised its stake in Walker & Dunlop by 8.2% during the first quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 27,859 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,378,000 after buying an additional 2,100 shares during the last quarter. 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.