Walker & Dunlop, Inc. (WD): fair value, margin of safety and Wheel Score

Is WD undervalued?

At 38.34 (close of 5 Nov 2026), WD trades 13% under the GLS average fair value of 44.20. 3 of the 7 models that produced a value land above the price. A discount of this size counts as a positive margin of safety in every GLS scan; whether it is enough depends on the rest of the picture - the health score, the moat and the option premium below.

There is a wide gap between GLS Growth (3.55) and DCF (161.69). When the models are this far apart the "fair value" is really a range, and the margin of safety above should be read with that range in mind.

Ranked against every other company we cover, neither cheapness nor growth clearly wins for WD, so the nightly engine files it under Blend (value score 50, growth score 37, out of 100). It also carries the Income tag (Income = a dividend yield of 4% or more).

Nine valuation models for WD

Each model turns the latest filed numbers into a value per share; the GLS fair value is the simple average of the ones that produce a positive number. The last two rows are shown for reference and never enter the average. The Quote page lets you switch any model off and add your own margin of safety.

Quality and financial health

Walker & Dunlop, Inc. scores 6 of 9 on the Piotroski F-score: a middling result that passes the "Piotroski 6 or more" Wheel Trade Filter. Some of the nine tests on profitability, leverage and efficiency are failed, so the accounts are worth a look before selling a put on the name. A GLS Moat score of 7.9/10 puts WD among the more durable businesses we track: over up to ten years its returns on capital have stayed high, its margins steady and its balance sheet sound.

Returns on capital are thin or negative - ROIC 1.4%, ROE 3.3%, ROA 1.1% - with debt at 1.30 times equity and negative free cash flow.

The dividend yield is high at 7.07% (payout ratio 289%) - a payout above 100% of earnings, which is not covered by profits. A yield this size is often the market's way of pricing a risk to the payout, so the health score and cash flow matter more than usual. Revenue comes mainly from Servicing Fees 72%, Product and Service, Other 22%, Investment Management Fees 6% (quarter Q2 FY2026).

Institutional ownership scores 10/10, insider activity 10/10 and Congressional trading 5/10 on the GLS smart-money scales.

Wheel Score 39: Weak

With a Wheel Score of 39 Walker & Dunlop, Inc. sits in the Weak band. It fails filter 6, no serious red flags - Red Flags score 55 (under 60); Red Flags (weak) is its weakest part.

Implied volatility is 45% on the near-the-money contracts 20-60 days out - inside the 35-60% sweet spot the Wheel Score rewards most: enough premium to be worth selling, not so much that the risk is unpaid. Chain open interest is thin - 1,094 contracts across every expiry - so fills at a fair price are not guaranteed; a 30-45-day put may not exist at a usable strike.

Volume runs at 813k shares a day on a market cap of $1.3B, with a beta of 1.49 - a high beta, so the stock tends to move more than the market and a strike can be gapped through; the Stability part of the Wheel Score rates that weak.

The Wheel Score ranks ~7,400 US stocks for selling cash-secured puts and covered calls: a stock must pass all 9 Wheel Trade Filters to score 70, and the score then ranks the ones that pass; the Sunday Scan is the top 10. It is updated nightly and is not a recommendation. How the Wheel Score works · the walkthrough lesson shows how it fits into a trade, start to finish.

Upcoming events

Walker & Dunlop, Inc. reports earnings on 5 Nov 2026 (before the open) - inside the 14-day window the Sunday Scan avoids, because a put sold now would carry the report's gap risk.

No analyst upgrades or downgrades were recorded in the last 30 days.

Earnings, dividend, IPO, split and economic calendars for the whole market, filterable to your watchlists.

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