Quest Partners LLC Increases Position in Walker & Dunlop, Inc. (NYSE:WD)

Quest Partners LLC increased its stake in Walker & Dunlop, Inc. (NYSE:WD) by 2,259,700.0% in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 22,598 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 22,597 shares during the quarter. Quest Partners LLC owned 0.07% of Walker & Dunlop worth $2,567,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WD. National Bank of Canada FI grew its stake in Walker & Dunlop by 205.6% in the 2nd quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 275 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 185 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. grew its stake in Walker & Dunlop by 1,295.8% in the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 335 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $38,000 after acquiring an additional 311 shares during the last quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. grew its stake in Walker & Dunlop by 44.5% in the 2nd quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. now owns 575 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $56,000 after acquiring an additional 177 shares during the last quarter. EntryPoint Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Walker & Dunlop in the 1st quarter valued at about $57,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in Walker & Dunlop by 64.7% in the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 654 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $74,000 after acquiring an additional 257 shares during the last quarter. 80.97% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, COO Stephen P. Theobald sold 13,870 shares of the firm’s 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 transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 53,869 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,715,500.90. This trade represents a 20.48 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 5.26% of the company’s stock.

Walker & Dunlop Stock Performance

WD opened at $106.62 on Monday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $110.58 and its 200 day simple moving average is $103.58. Walker & Dunlop, Inc. has a 1 year low of $81.14 and a 1 year high of $118.19. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.60 billion, a PE ratio of 38.08 and a beta of 1.55.

Walker & Dunlop (NYSE:WD) last released its 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). Walker & Dunlop had a return on equity of 9.81% and a net margin of 8.91%. The company had revenue of $292.30 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $294.24 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.11 earnings per share. Walker & Dunlop’s revenue was up 8.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Walker & Dunlop, Inc. will post 5.18 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Walker & Dunlop Announces Dividend

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently commented on WD. StockNews.com raised shares of Walker & Dunlop from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday, August 11th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on shares of Walker & Dunlop from $105.00 to $112.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 25th. Wedbush raised their price target on shares of Walker & Dunlop from $105.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. Finally, Wolfe Research raised 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.