Walker & Dunlop, Inc. (NYSE:WD) Sees Large Drop in Short Interest

Walker & Dunlop, Inc. (NYSE:WD) was the recipient of a large decline in short interest during the month of October. As of October 31st, there was short interest totalling 855,200 shares, a decline of 17.0% from the October 15th total of 1,030,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 166,600 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 5.1 days.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Wolfe Research upgraded shares of Walker & Dunlop to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 24th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Walker & Dunlop from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, August 11th. Wedbush boosted their price objective on shares of Walker & Dunlop from $105.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on shares of Walker & Dunlop from $105.00 to $112.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, July 25th.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Walker & Dunlop news, COO Stephen P. Theobald sold 13,870 shares of Walker & Dunlop stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $106.10, for a total value of $1,471,607.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 53,869 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,715,500.90. The trade was a 20.48 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 5.47% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. SG Americas Securities LLC acquired a new stake in Walker & Dunlop during the first quarter valued at approximately $380,000. Swiss National Bank lifted its stake in Walker & Dunlop by 0.3% during the first quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 66,000 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $6,670,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. lifted its stake in Walker & Dunlop by 3.2% during the first quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 20,314 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,053,000 after purchasing an additional 633 shares during the last quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Walker & Dunlop by 7.4% during the first quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 6,453 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $652,000 after purchasing an additional 443 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UniSuper Management Pty Ltd acquired a new stake in Walker & Dunlop during the first quarter valued at approximately $795,000. 80.97% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Walker & Dunlop Trading Down 0.9 %

NYSE WD opened at $106.62 on Monday. Walker & Dunlop has a 52 week low of $81.14 and a 52 week high of $118.19. The stock has a market cap of $3.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.08 and a beta of 1.55. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $110.58 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $103.58.

Walker & Dunlop (NYSE:WD) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The financial services provider reported $1.19 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.29 by ($0.10). Walker & Dunlop had a return on equity of 9.81% and a net margin of 8.91%. The firm had revenue of $292.30 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $294.24 million. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.11 EPS. Walker & Dunlop’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Walker & Dunlop will post 5.18 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Walker & Dunlop Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 6th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 22nd will be issued a $0.65 dividend. This represents a $2.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.44%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 22nd. Walker & Dunlop’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 92.86%.

About Walker & Dunlop

Walker & Dunlop, Inc, through its subsidiaries, originates, sells, and services a range of multifamily and other commercial real estate financing products and services for owners and developers of real estate in the United States. It operates through three segments: Capital Markets, Servicing & Asset Management, and Corporate.