Walker & Dunlop (NYSE:WD) Releases Quarterly Earnings Results, Beats Estimates By $0.36 EPS

Walker & Dunlop (NYSE:WD) announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday. The financial services provider reported $1.19 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.83 by $0.36, RTT News reports. The company had revenue of $228.10 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $251.82 million. Walker & Dunlop had a return on equity of 9.16% and a net margin of 8.87%. Walker & Dunlop’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.17 EPS.

Walker & Dunlop Price Performance

Walker & Dunlop stock traded up $1.00 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $95.23. The stock had a trading volume of 283,147 shares, compared to its average volume of 213,456. The stock has a market cap of $3.20 billion, a PE ratio of 34.81 and a beta of 1.54. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $93.85 and a 200-day simple moving average of $91.41. Walker & Dunlop has a 52 week low of $61.06 and a 52 week high of $113.67.

Walker & Dunlop Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 31st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 16th will be given a dividend of $0.65 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 15th. This represents a $2.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.73%. Walker & Dunlop’s payout ratio is currently 94.89%.

Insider Activity

In other Walker & Dunlop news, CFO Gregory Florkowski sold 4,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $96.45, for a total value of $385,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 11,809 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,138,978.05. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other Walker & Dunlop news, Director Howard W. Smith III sold 20,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $93.81, for a total transaction of $1,876,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 191,508 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $17,965,365.48. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Gregory Florkowski sold 4,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $96.45, for a total transaction of $385,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 11,809 shares in the company, valued at $1,138,978.05. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 46,074 shares of company stock valued at $4,328,255. Insiders own 5.47% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WD has been the topic of several research reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reissued a “market perform” rating and set a $105.00 price target on shares of Walker & Dunlop in a research note on Tuesday, March 26th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Walker & Dunlop from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Friday, March 22nd. Finally, Wedbush reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $95.00 price objective on shares of Walker & Dunlop in a report on Friday.

Walker & Dunlop Company Profile

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.