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

Walker & Dunlop (NYSE:WD) issued 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 the consensus estimate of $251.82 million. Walker & Dunlop had a return on equity of 9.15% and a net margin of 10.18%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.17 earnings per share.

Walker & Dunlop Stock Performance

WD stock traded up $1.16 during trading on Friday, reaching $95.39. The company had a trading volume of 283,147 shares, compared to its average volume of 226,695. Walker & Dunlop has a twelve month low of $61.06 and a twelve month high of $113.67. The company has a market cap of $3.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.00 and a beta of 1.54. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $93.85 and a 200-day simple moving average of $91.41.

Walker & Dunlop Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 31st. Investors of record on Thursday, May 16th will be given a $0.65 dividend. This represents a $2.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.73%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, May 15th. Walker & Dunlop’s payout ratio is currently 81.76%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods restated a “market perform” rating and issued a $105.00 price target on shares of Walker & Dunlop in a report on Tuesday, March 26th. Wedbush restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $95.00 target price on shares of Walker & Dunlop in a research note on Friday. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded Walker & Dunlop from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Friday, March 22nd.

Insider Buying and Selling at Walker & Dunlop

In related news, Director Howard W. Smith III sold 20,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $93.81, for a total value of $1,876,200.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 191,508 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $17,965,365.48. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, Director Howard W. Smith III sold 20,000 shares of Walker & Dunlop stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the director now owns 191,508 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $17,965,365.48. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Howard W. Smith III sold 20,166 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $93.56, for a total transaction of $1,886,730.96. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 191,508 shares in the company, valued at approximately $17,917,488.48. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 46,074 shares of company stock worth $4,328,255. 5.47% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.