Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. Boosts Holdings in Walker & Dunlop, Inc. $WD

Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. raised its position in Walker & Dunlop, Inc. (NYSE:WD) by 147.7% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 537,338 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 320,425 shares during the quarter. Deprince Race & Zollo Inc.’s holdings in Walker & Dunlop were worth $44,932,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Allworth Financial LP lifted its holdings in shares of Walker & Dunlop by 115.8% during the 2nd quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 479 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 257 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in Walker & Dunlop by 65.7% during the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 479 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $40,000 after buying an additional 190 shares during the last quarter. Strs Ohio acquired a new position in Walker & Dunlop during the 1st quarter valued at about $51,000. CWM LLC raised its stake in Walker & Dunlop by 261.6% in the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,338 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $112,000 after buying an additional 968 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Janney Montgomery Scott LLC raised its stake in Walker & Dunlop by 13.6% in the second quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 2,908 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $205,000 after buying an additional 348 shares during the last quarter. 80.97% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Citizens Jmp upgraded Walker & Dunlop from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $95.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 10th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on shares of Walker & Dunlop from $95.00 to $97.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 9th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Walker & Dunlop from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, November 8th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Walker & Dunlop in a report on Monday, December 22nd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on shares of Walker & Dunlop in a research note on Friday, December 19th. They set a “buy” rating and a $75.00 price objective for the company. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Walker & Dunlop currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $90.40.

Walker & Dunlop Stock Down 0.0%

Shares of NYSE WD opened at $60.91 on Friday. Walker & Dunlop, Inc. has a 52 week low of $60.05 and a 52 week high of $98.90. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $68.40 and its 200 day moving average price is $75.30. The firm has a market cap of $2.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.07 and a beta of 1.58.

Walker & Dunlop (NYSE:WD) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 6th. The financial services provider reported $1.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.21 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $337.68 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $325.10 million. Walker & Dunlop had a net margin of 9.31% and a return on equity of 8.85%. Walker & Dunlop’s revenue for the quarter was up 15.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.19 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Walker & Dunlop, Inc. will post 4.97 earnings per share for the current year.

Walker & Dunlop Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 5th. Investors of record on Friday, November 21st were given a dividend of $0.67 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 21st. This represents a $2.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.4%. Walker & Dunlop’s payout ratio is currently 79.53%.

Walker & Dunlop Profile

Walker & Dunlop is one of the largest providers of commercial real estate finance in the United States, specializing in the origination, servicing and sale of loans secured by multifamily, seniors housing, healthcare, student housing and manufactured housing properties. The firm offers a full suite of debt and equity solutions, including agency financing through Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, HUD and FHA-insured loans, bridge and construction financing, mezzanine debt, preferred equity, and investment sales advisory.

With roots dating back to 1937 and its headquarters in Bethesda, Maryland, Walker & Dunlop has expanded its platform through both organic growth and strategic acquisitions.