Reviewing Walker & Dunlop (NYSE:WD) & NU (NYSE:NU)

NU (NYSE:NU) and Walker & Dunlop (NYSE:WD) are both business services companies, but which is the better business? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, earnings, dividends, valuation, institutional ownership, profitability and risk.

Dividends

NU pays an annual dividend of $1.67 per share and has a dividend yield of 11.9%. Walker & Dunlop pays an annual dividend of $2.60 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.4%. NU pays out 463.9% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. Walker & Dunlop pays out 92.9% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares NU and Walker & Dunlop”s top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
NU	$7.25 billion	9.24	$1.03 billion	$0.36	39.06
Walker & Dunlop	$1.05 billion	3.41	$107.36 million	$2.80	38.08

NU has higher revenue and earnings than Walker & Dunlop. Walker & Dunlop is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than NU, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of current ratings for NU and Walker & Dunlop, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
NU	0	4	5	0	2.56
Walker & Dunlop	0	2	0	1	2.67

NU currently has a consensus price target of $16.21, indicating a potential upside of 15.31%. Walker & Dunlop has a consensus price target of $111.00, indicating a potential upside of 4.11%. Given NU’s higher probable upside, equities research analysts plainly believe NU is more favorable than Walker & Dunlop.

Risk & Volatility

NU has a beta of 1.13, suggesting that its stock price is 13% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Walker & Dunlop has a beta of 1.55, suggesting that its stock price is 55% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Profitability

This table compares NU and Walker & Dunlop’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
NU	16.28%	29.70%	4.53%
Walker & Dunlop	8.91%	9.81%	4.11%

Institutional & Insider Ownership

80.9% of NU shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 81.0% of Walker & Dunlop shares are owned by institutional investors. 1.2% of NU shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 5.5% of Walker & Dunlop shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Summary

NU beats Walker & Dunlop on 10 of the 17 factors compared between the two stocks.

About NU

Nu Holdings Ltd. provides digital banking platform and digital financial services in Brazil, Mexico, Colombia, and internationally. It offers Nu credit and debit cards; Ultraviolet credit and debit cards; and mobile payment solutions for NuAccount customers to make and receive transfers, pay bills, and make everyday purchases through their mobile phones. The company provides savings solutions, such as Nu Personal Accounts, a digital account solution that supports all personal finance activities, from daily purchases and money transfers to savings; and Nu business accounts designed specifically for entrepreneur customers and their businesses. In addition, it offers NuCrypto, a solution for buying and selling cryptocurrencies through the Nu app; NuInvest, an investment product that provides equity, fixed-income, options, and ETF products, as well as multimarket funds with curated asset allocations based on the customer's risk profile and financial position; personal unsecured loans; in-app buy now pay later' solution for Nu card customers to pay credit and debit purchases, and banking payment slips over time in up to twelve installments; and NuInsurance protecting solutions to help its customers secure life insurance and funeral benefits. The company was founded in 2013 and is headquartered in Sao Paulo, Brazil.

About Walker & Dunlop

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. The company offers first mortgage, second trust, supplemental, construction, mezzanine, preferred equity, and small-balance loans. It also provides finance for multifamily, manufactured housing communities, student housing, affordable housing, and senior housing properties under the Fannie Mae's DUS program; and construction and permanent loans to developers and owners of multifamily housing, affordable housing, senior housing, and healthcare facilities. In addition, the company acts as a debt broker to work with life insurance companies, banks, and other institutional lenders to find debt and/or equity solution for the borrowers' needs; and offers property sales brokerage services to owners and developers of multifamily properties, and commercial real estate and multifamily property appraisals for various investors. Further, it provides multifamily appraisal and valuation services; and real estate-related investment banking and advisory services, including housing market research. Additionally, the company offers servicing and asset-managing the portfolio of loans; originates loans through its principal lending and investing activities; and manages third-party capital invested in tax credit equity funds focused on the LIHTC sector and other commercial real estate sectors. Walker & Dunlop, Inc. was founded in 1937 and is headquartered in Bethesda, Maryland.