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

Walker & Dunlop, Inc. (NYSE:WD) was the recipient of a significant decrease in short interest during the month of May. As of May 31st, there was short interest totalling 1,280,000 shares, a decrease of 22.0% from the May 15th total of 1,640,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 200,100 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 6.4 days.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the company. Wedbush reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $95.00 target price on shares of Walker & Dunlop in a report on Friday, May 3rd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reaffirmed a “market perform” rating and set a $105.00 price target on shares of Walker & Dunlop in a report on Tuesday, March 26th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered Walker & Dunlop from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Friday, March 22nd.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Paula A. Pryor sold 4,533 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, May 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $97.33, for a total value of $441,196.89. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 9,227 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $898,063.91. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 5.47% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Walker & Dunlop

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Impactive Capital LP boosted its holdings in Walker & Dunlop by 242.0% during the first quarter. Impactive Capital LP now owns 1,034,093 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $104,505,000 after buying an additional 731,714 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Walker & Dunlop in the 4th quarter worth $40,059,000. Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Walker & Dunlop by 65.9% during the fourth quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 658,857 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $73,140,000 after purchasing an additional 261,708 shares during the period. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Walker & Dunlop by 7,867.6% during the fourth quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 73,461 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $8,155,000 after purchasing an additional 72,539 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Great Lakes Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Walker & Dunlop in the 4th quarter valued at $5,016,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.97% of the company’s stock.

Walker & Dunlop Stock Down 2.1 %

WD stock traded down $2.06 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $94.34. The company had a trading volume of 99,757 shares, compared to its average volume of 120,652. Walker & Dunlop has a one year low of $62.51 and a one year high of $113.67. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.43 and a beta of 1.54. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $94.96 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $96.58.

Walker & Dunlop (NYSE:WD) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The financial services provider reported $1.19 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.83 by $0.36. Walker & Dunlop had a return on equity of 9.16% and a net margin of 8.87%. The firm had revenue of $228.10 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $251.82 million. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.17 EPS. The firm’s revenue was down 4.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts forecast that Walker & Dunlop will post 5.35 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Walker & Dunlop Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 31st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 16th were paid a dividend of $0.65 per share. This represents a $2.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.76%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, May 15th. Walker & Dunlop’s payout ratio is currently 94.89%.

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.