Walker & Dunlop (NYSE:WD) Issues Earnings Results

Walker & Dunlop (NYSE:WD - Get Free Report) released its earnings results on Thursday. The financial services provider reported $0.85 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.98 by ($0.13), Zacks reports. Walker & Dunlop had a net margin of 9.55% and a return on equity of 9.64%. The business had revenue of $237.37 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $260.43 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.35 EPS. Walker & Dunlop's revenue for the quarter was up 4.1% on a year-over-year basis.

Walker & Dunlop Price Performance

WD traded down $1.33 during trading on Monday, reaching $72.85. 303,369 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 193,711. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $80.45 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $93.43. Walker & Dunlop has a fifty-two week low of $69.59 and a fifty-two week high of $118.19. The stock has a market cap of $2.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.84 and a beta of 1.64.

Walker & Dunlop Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 29th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 15th will be paid a $0.67 dividend. This represents a $2.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.68%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 15th. Walker & Dunlop's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 91.78%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price objective on Walker & Dunlop from $105.00 to $95.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 17th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Walker & Dunlop news, CEO William M. Walker purchased 17,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 6th. The shares were bought at an average price of $86.21 per share, for a total transaction of $1,508,675.00. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer now directly owns 411,271 shares in the company, valued at $35,455,672.91. This trade represents a 4.44 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 3.66% of the company's stock.

About Walker & Dunlop

Walker & Dunlop, Inc is a holding company, which engages in the provision of commercial real estate and finance services. It operates through the following segments: Capital Markets, Servicing and Asset Management, and Corporate. The Capital Markets segment offers a comprehensive range of commercial real estate finance products to customers.