KBC Group NV Boosts Holdings in Walker & Dunlop, Inc. (NYSE:WD)

KBC Group NV boosted its holdings in shares of Walker & Dunlop, Inc. (NYSE:WD) by 28.4% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 1,203 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 266 shares during the quarter. KBC Group NV’s holdings in Walker & Dunlop were worth $137,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of WD. Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Walker & Dunlop by 33.1% during 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 purchasing an additional 351,957 shares in the last quarter. Versor Investments LP acquired a new stake in Walker & Dunlop during the 3rd quarter valued at $375,000. Chartwell Investment Partners LLC purchased a new position in Walker & Dunlop during the third quarter worth $885,000. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Walker & Dunlop by 20.9% in the third quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. now owns 2,907 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $330,000 after acquiring an additional 503 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Atria Investments Inc lifted its position in shares of Walker & Dunlop by 29.5% in the third quarter. Atria Investments Inc now owns 3,821 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $434,000 after acquiring an additional 870 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.97% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently commented on WD shares. Wedbush lifted their price objective on Walker & Dunlop from $105.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on shares of Walker & Dunlop from $105.00 to $112.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 25th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Walker & Dunlop from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, August 11th. Finally, Wolfe Research upgraded Walker & Dunlop to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 24th.

Walker & Dunlop Price Performance

WD opened at $106.81 on Friday. Walker & Dunlop, Inc. has a 12 month low of $81.24 and a 12 month high of $118.19. The business has a 50-day moving average of $110.77 and a two-hundred day moving average of $103.84. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.77 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 analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.29 by ($0.10). The company had revenue of $292.30 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $294.24 million. Walker & Dunlop had a net margin of 8.91% and a return on equity of 9.81%. Walker & Dunlop’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.11 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that Walker & Dunlop, Inc. will post 5.18 earnings per share for the current year.

Walker & Dunlop Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 6th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 22nd will be issued a dividend of $0.65 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 22nd. This represents a $2.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.43%. Walker & Dunlop’s payout ratio is 92.86%.

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.