193,529 Shares in Walker & Dunlop, Inc. $WD Acquired by CenterBook Partners LP

CenterBook Partners LP acquired a new stake in Walker & Dunlop, Inc. (NYSE:WD) in the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm acquired 193,529 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $6,795,000.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in WD. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Walker & Dunlop during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $289,614,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its stake in Walker & Dunlop by 8.2% in the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,369,114 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $60,760,000 after acquiring an additional 104,008 shares during the period. Jupiter Topco LLC purchased a new stake in Walker & Dunlop in the 2nd quarter worth $63,434,000. Conversant Capital LLC increased its holdings in Walker & Dunlop by 33.0% in the 1st quarter. Conversant Capital LLC now owns 560,316 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $24,867,000 after acquiring an additional 138,936 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Alyeska Investment Group L.P. increased its holdings in Walker & Dunlop by 3.7% in the 2nd quarter. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. now owns 555,439 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $30,383,000 after acquiring an additional 19,988 shares in the last quarter. 80.97% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have issued reports on WD. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Walker & Dunlop from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, August 29th. Citizens Jmp cut their target price on shares of Walker & Dunlop from $55.00 to $50.00 and set a “market outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, October 16th. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Walker & Dunlop from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 18th. Citigroup restated a “market outperform” rating on shares of Walker & Dunlop in a research report on Friday, October 16th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price target on shares of Walker & Dunlop from $45.00 to $43.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $59.25.

Key Walker & Dunlop News

Here are the key news stories impacting Walker & Dunlop this week:

• Positive Sentiment: The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.68 per share, equivalent to $2.72 annually and a reported 7.0% yield. The dividend may appeal to income-focused investors. Dividend announcement
• Neutral Sentiment: A Q3 deep dive highlighted cost actions and a portfolio shift following a loan repurchase write-down. Cost measures could help future performance, but the write-down underscores ongoing risk. Q3 deep dive
• Neutral Sentiment: Shares crossed above their 50-day moving average, a potentially constructive technical signal, though the report noted this came after an analyst downgrade. Moving average and analyst downgrade
• Negative Sentiment: Q3 adjusted EPS was $0.92, below the $0.98 consensus, while revenue of $298.45 million missed the $310.93 million estimate. Revenue declined 11.6% year over year, and EPS fell from $1.22 a year earlier—evidence of weaker operating results. Q3 results miss estimates
• Negative Sentiment: The analyst downgrade adds pressure to sentiment amid the earnings shortfall. Analyst downgrade

Walker & Dunlop Stock Performance

Shares of WD traded down $0.81 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $39.02. 765,414 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 554,216. Walker & Dunlop, Inc. has a 12-month low of $31.40 and a 12-month high of $72.61. The company has a market cap of $1.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -38.64 and a beta of 1.48. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $36.66 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $47.38.

Walker & Dunlop (NYSE:WD) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 5th. The financial services provider reported $0.92 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.98 by ($0.06). The firm had revenue of $298.45 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $310.93 million. Walker & Dunlop had a net margin of 2.94% and a return on equity of 7.25%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 11.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.22 earnings per share.

Walker & Dunlop Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 4th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 20th will be given a $0.68 dividend. This represents a $2.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 7.0%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 20th. Walker & Dunlop’s dividend payout ratio is 242.86%.

Walker & Dunlop Profile

Walker & Dunlop, Inc is a commercial real estate finance and advisory firm serving property owners, investors and developers across the United States. The company provides financing, investment sales, valuation, research and advisory services for a broad range of commercial real estate assets, including multifamily, office, industrial, retail, hospitality and senior housing properties.

Its financing business arranges debt and equity solutions through relationships with banks, life insurance companies, government-sponsored enterprises and other capital providers.