Walker & Dunlop (NYSE:WD) Stock Rating Upgraded by Keefe, Bruyette & Woods

Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded shares of Walker & Dunlop (NYSE:WD - Free Report) from a market perform rating to an outperform rating in a report released on Thursday, MarketBeat Ratings reports. The firm currently has $105.00 price objective on the financial services provider's stock.

Walker & Dunlop Stock Down 1.4 %

Shares of NYSE:WD traded down $1.20 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $86.44. The company's stock had a trading volume of 453,997 shares, compared to its average volume of 187,767. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $91.12 and a 200-day moving average of $102.26. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.10 and a beta of 1.63. Walker & Dunlop has a 12-month low of $81.07 and a 12-month high of $118.19.

Walker & Dunlop (NYSE:WD - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 13th. The financial services provider reported $1.34 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.52 by ($0.18). Walker & Dunlop had a return on equity of 9.64% and a net margin of 9.55%. The business had revenue of $341.45 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $316.82 million. On average, research analysts predict that Walker & Dunlop will post 4.97 EPS for the current year.

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Walker & Dunlop Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 28th will be issued a $0.67 dividend. This represents a $2.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.10%. This is an increase from Walker & Dunlop's previous quarterly dividend of $0.65. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 28th. Walker & Dunlop's payout ratio is 84.01%.

Insider Transactions at Walker & Dunlop

In other news, CEO William M. Walker bought 17,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 6th. The shares were purchased at an average price 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 owns 411,271 shares in the company, valued at approximately $35,455,672.91. This represents a 4.44 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 5.47% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Walker & Dunlop

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Walker & Dunlop in the 4th quarter worth $40,226,000. FMR LLC boosted its position in shares of Walker & Dunlop by 48.7% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,227,874 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $139,474,000 after buying an additional 402,313 shares during the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in Walker & Dunlop by 33.1% in the 3rd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,415,479 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $160,784,000 after buying an additional 351,957 shares in the last quarter. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P purchased a new position in Walker & Dunlop in the 4th quarter worth about $17,384,000. Finally, Erste Asset Management GmbH bought a new position in Walker & Dunlop during the 3rd quarter valued at about $19,843,000. 80.97% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other 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.