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

Walker & Dunlop (NYSE:WD - Get Free Report) released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday. The financial services provider reported $1.19 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.83 by $0.36, RTT News reports. The firm had revenue of $228.10 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $251.82 million. Walker & Dunlop had a net margin of 10.18% and a return on equity of 9.15%. The business's quarterly revenue was down 4.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.17 earnings per share.

Walker & Dunlop Price Performance

WD traded up $1.16 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $95.39. 283,147 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 226,695. Walker & Dunlop has a 52 week low of $61.06 and a 52 week high of $113.67. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $93.85 and a two-hundred day moving average of $91.41. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.00 and a beta of 1.54.

Walker & Dunlop Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 31st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 16th will be issued a dividend of $0.65 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 15th. This represents a $2.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.73%. Walker & Dunlop's dividend payout ratio is currently 81.76%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WD has been the subject of a number of research reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reissued a "market perform" rating and issued a $105.00 price target on shares of Walker & Dunlop in a research note on Tuesday, March 26th. Wedbush reiterated a "neutral" rating and issued a $95.00 target price on shares of Walker & Dunlop in a research report 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 Activity

In other Walker & Dunlop news, CFO Gregory Florkowski sold 4,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $96.45, for a total transaction of $385,800.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 11,809 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,138,978.05. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, Director Howard W. Smith III sold 20,000 shares of Walker & Dunlop stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the director now directly owns 191,508 shares in the company, 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, CFO Gregory Florkowski sold 4,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction 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 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 three months, insiders have sold 46,074 shares of company stock valued at $4,328,255. Company insiders own 5.47% of the company's stock.

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.

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