Wedbush Research Analysts Lift Earnings Estimates for Walker & Dunlop, Inc. (NYSE:WD)

Walker & Dunlop, Inc. (NYSE:WD) – Equities research analysts at Wedbush increased their FY2024 earnings estimates for Walker & Dunlop in a research report issued to clients and investors on Wednesday, September 25th. Wedbush analyst J. Mccanless now anticipates that the financial services provider will earn $5.48 per share for the year, up from their previous forecast of $5.38. Wedbush has a “Neutral” rating and a $110.00 price target on the stock. The consensus estimate for Walker & Dunlop’s current full-year earnings is $5.27 per share. Wedbush also issued estimates for Walker & Dunlop’s FY2025 earnings at $3.75 EPS.

WD has been the topic of a number of other research reports. Wolfe Research raised Walker & Dunlop to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Walker & Dunlop from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, August 11th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on shares of Walker & Dunlop from $105.00 to $112.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 25th.

Walker & Dunlop Price Performance

WD opened at $112.06 on Friday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $105.82 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $99.11. The company has a market capitalization of $3.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.90 and a beta of 1.55. Walker & Dunlop has a 1-year low of $62.51 and a 1-year high of $116.26.

Walker & Dunlop (NYSE:WD) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 8th. The financial services provider reported $1.23 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.16 by $0.07. Walker & Dunlop had a net margin of 8.41% and a return on equity of 9.65%. The company had revenue of $270.70 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $274.50 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.98 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down .7% compared to the same quarter last year.

Walker & Dunlop Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 6th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 22nd were given a dividend of $0.65 per share. This represents a $2.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.32%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, August 22nd. Walker & Dunlop’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 94.89%.

Insider Activity

In other Walker & Dunlop news, COO Stephen P. Theobald sold 13,870 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 53,869 shares in the company, valued at $5,715,500.90. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 5.47% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Walker & Dunlop

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of WD. National Bank of Canada FI raised its position in Walker & Dunlop by 205.6% during the second quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 275 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 185 shares during the period. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Walker & Dunlop in the 1st quarter valued at about $34,000. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. lifted its position in shares of Walker & Dunlop by 163.6% in the first quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. now owns 398 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 247 shares in the last quarter. EntryPoint Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Walker & Dunlop during the first quarter worth approximately $57,000. Finally, Asset Dedication LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Walker & Dunlop during the second quarter worth approximately $94,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.97% of the company’s stock.

Walker & Dunlop Company Profile

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.