BNP Paribas Financial Markets Raises Stake in Walker & Dunlop, Inc. (NYSE:WD)

BNP Paribas Financial Markets grew its holdings in shares of Walker & Dunlop, Inc. (NYSE:WD) by 20.9% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 13,667 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,362 shares during the quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets’ holdings in Walker & Dunlop were worth $1,552,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. SG Americas Securities LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Walker & Dunlop by 144.3% during the 2nd quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 9,192 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $903,000 after acquiring an additional 5,430 shares in the last quarter. AlphaMark Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Walker & Dunlop by 20.6% in the second quarter. AlphaMark Advisors LLC now owns 3,308 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $325,000 after buying an additional 566 shares in the last quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System raised its holdings in shares of Walker & Dunlop by 2.4% during the 2nd quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System now owns 17,000 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,669,000 after buying an additional 400 shares during the period. Spinnaker Investment Group LLC lifted its position in Walker & Dunlop by 8.5% during the 2nd quarter. Spinnaker Investment Group LLC now owns 15,021 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,475,000 after acquiring an additional 1,180 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its position in Walker & Dunlop by 0.8% in the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 377,417 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $37,062,000 after acquiring an additional 2,815 shares in the last quarter. 80.97% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Walker & Dunlop Stock Up 0.9 %

NYSE:WD opened at $108.79 on Monday. 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 $3.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.85 and a beta of 1.53. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $110.58 and its 200 day moving average price is $104.75.

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

Walker & Dunlop Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 6th. Investors of record on Friday, November 22nd were issued a dividend of $0.65 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 22nd. This represents a $2.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.39%. Walker & Dunlop’s dividend payout ratio is 92.86%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WD has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. 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 report on Wednesday, September 25th. Wolfe Research raised shares of Walker & Dunlop to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 24th. Finally, StockNews.com raised Walker & Dunlop from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, August 11th.

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.