Principal Financial Group Inc. Reduces Stock Position in Walker & Dunlop, Inc. (NYSE:WD)

Principal Financial Group Inc. trimmed its stake in shares of Walker & Dunlop, Inc. (NYSE:WD) by 9.2% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 151,684 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 15,350 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned approximately 0.45% of Walker & Dunlop worth $17,230,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of WD. FMR LLC raised its stake in Walker & Dunlop by 48.7% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,227,874 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $139,474,000 after acquiring an additional 402,313 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 351,957 shares during the period. Erste Asset Management GmbH bought a new stake in Walker & Dunlop in the 3rd quarter valued at about $19,843,000. First Sabrepoint Capital Management LP boosted its stake in Walker & Dunlop by 100.0% during the 3rd quarter. First Sabrepoint Capital Management LP now owns 150,000 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $17,038,000 after purchasing an additional 75,000 shares during the period. Finally, Ceredex Value Advisors LLC bought a new position in Walker & Dunlop in the 3rd quarter worth about $8,156,000. 80.97% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Walker & Dunlop Stock Down 1.9 %

NYSE:WD opened at $96.76 on Friday. Walker & Dunlop, Inc. has a 52-week low of $87.20 and a 52-week high of $118.19. The firm has a market cap of $3.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.56 and a beta of 1.53. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $107.52 and its 200 day moving average price is $105.44.

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

Walker & Dunlop Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 6th. Investors of record on Friday, November 22nd were given a $0.65 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 22nd. This represents a $2.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.69%. Walker & Dunlop’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 92.86%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on WD shares. Wedbush lifted their price target on Walker & Dunlop from $105.00 to $110.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. Wolfe Research upgraded shares of Walker & Dunlop to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 24th.

Walker & Dunlop 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.