Walker & Dunlop (NYSE:WD) Reaches New 1-Year Low – Should You Sell?

Walker & Dunlop, Inc. (NYSE:WD)’s stock price hit a new 52-week low on Wednesday . The company traded as low as $72.32 and last traded at $73.81, with a volume of 256400 shares. The stock had previously closed at $75.09.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised shares of Walker & Dunlop from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $105.00 price target for the company in a report on Thursday, March 6th.

Walker & Dunlop Stock Performance

The stock has a 50 day moving average of $86.35 and a 200 day moving average of $98.66. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.14 and a beta of 1.42.

Walker & Dunlop (NYSE:WD) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The financial services provider reported $1.34 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.52 by ($0.18). Walker & Dunlop had a net margin of 9.55% and a return on equity of 9.64%. The firm had revenue of $341.45 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $316.82 million. On average, research analysts anticipate that Walker & Dunlop, Inc. will post 4.97 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Walker & Dunlop Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 28th were paid a $0.67 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 28th. This represents a $2.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.63%. This is a positive change from Walker & Dunlop’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.65. Walker & Dunlop’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 84.01%.

Insider Transactions at Walker & Dunlop

In related news, CEO William M. Walker acquired 17,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 6th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $86.21 per share, for a total transaction of $1,508,675.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer now directly owns 411,271 shares in the company, valued at $35,455,672.91. This trade represents a 4.44 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 3.66% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Walker & Dunlop

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Verition Fund Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Walker & Dunlop by 14.3% during the third quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC now owns 2,487 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $282,000 after acquiring an additional 312 shares during the period. Quantinno Capital Management LP bought a new position in Walker & Dunlop during the 3rd quarter valued at $230,000. State Street Corp boosted its stake in Walker & Dunlop by 1.3% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,434,370 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $162,930,000 after purchasing an additional 18,461 shares in the last quarter. National Bank of Canada FI increased its position in shares of Walker & Dunlop by 42.2% during the 3rd quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 391 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $44,000 after purchasing an additional 116 shares during the period. Finally, XTX Topco Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Walker & Dunlop in the third quarter valued at $382,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.97% of the company’s stock.

About Walker & Dunlop

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.