Head-To-Head Contrast: Walker & Dunlop (NYSE:WD) vs. Hut 8 (NASDAQ:HUT)

Hut 8 (NASDAQ:HUT) and Walker & Dunlop (NYSE:WD) are both mid-cap finance companies, but which is the superior business? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their dividends, earnings, profitability, valuation, risk, analyst recommendations and institutional ownership.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

31.8% of Hut 8 shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 81.0% of Walker & Dunlop shares are held by institutional investors. 12.0% of Hut 8 shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 5.5% of Walker & Dunlop shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Volatility and Risk

Hut 8 has a beta of 4.25, indicating that its stock price is 325% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Walker & Dunlop has a beta of 1.53, indicating that its stock price is 53% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Profitability

This table compares Hut 8 and Walker & Dunlop’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Hut 8	N/A	N/A	N/A
Walker & Dunlop	8.91%	9.81%	4.11%

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Hut 8 and Walker & Dunlop”s revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Hut 8	$73.90 million	30.60	-$186.77 million	N/A	N/A
Walker & Dunlop	$1.07 billion	3.04	$107.36 million	$2.80	34.28

Walker & Dunlop has higher revenue and earnings than Hut 8.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of recent ratings and recommmendations for Hut 8 and Walker & Dunlop, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Hut 8	0	0	8	0	3.00
Walker & Dunlop	0	2	0	1	2.67

Hut 8 currently has a consensus price target of $31.88, indicating a potential upside of 31.93%. Walker & Dunlop has a consensus price target of $111.00, indicating a potential upside of 15.64%. Given Hut 8’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, research analysts plainly believe Hut 8 is more favorable than Walker & Dunlop.

Summary

Walker & Dunlop beats Hut 8 on 7 of the 13 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Hut 8

Hut 8 Corp., together with its subsidiaries, acquires, builds, manages, and operates data centers for digital assets mining, computing, and artificial intelligence in the United States. It operates in four segments: Digital Assets Mining, Managed Services, High Performance Computing Colocation and Cloud, and Other. The company mines Bitcoin. It also offers managed services for energy infrastructure development, such as site design, procurement, and construction management; software automation, process design, personnel hiring, and team training; utilities contracts, hosting operations, and customer management; energy portfolio optimization and strategic initiatives; and finance, accounting, and safety services for digital asset mining site owners, governments, and data center developers. In addition, the company provides colocation, cloud, and connectivity services; hosting services, which include the provision of mining equipment and space, as well as monitors, troubleshoots, repairs, and maintains customer mining equipment; and equipment sales and repair services. Hut 8 Corp. was founded in 2017 and is based in Miami, Florida.

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.