Walker & Dunlop (WD) Scheduled to Post Earnings on Thursday

Walker & Dunlop (NYSE:WD) will be issuing its quarterly earnings data before the market opens on Thursday, May 2nd. Analysts expect the company to announce earnings of $0.83 per share for the quarter. Parties interested in listening to the company’s conference call can do so using this link.

Walker & Dunlop (NYSE:WD) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 15th. The financial services provider reported $1.42 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.04 by $0.38. Walker & Dunlop had a net margin of 10.18% and a return on equity of 9.15%. The business had revenue of $274.30 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $276.76 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.41 EPS. The business’s revenue was down 3.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts expect Walker & Dunlop to post $4 EPS for the current fiscal year and $6 EPS for the next fiscal year.

Walker & Dunlop Stock Up 0.1 %

Shares of Walker & Dunlop stock opened at $94.04 on Thursday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $94.26 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $90.62. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.57 and a beta of 1.53. Walker & Dunlop has a twelve month low of $61.06 and a twelve month high of $113.67.

Walker & Dunlop Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 1st were given a $0.65 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 29th. This is a boost from Walker & Dunlop’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.63. This represents a $2.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.76%. Walker & Dunlop’s payout ratio is presently 81.76%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Walker & Dunlop

In other Walker & Dunlop news, Director Howard W. Smith III sold 20,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $93.81, for a total transaction 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 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 the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $93.81, for a total value of $1,876,200.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 191,508 shares in the company, valued at approximately $17,965,365.48. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Paula A. Pryor sold 1,908 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $94.09, for a total transaction of $179,523.72. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 3,707 shares in the company, valued at approximately $348,791.63. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 46,074 shares of company stock worth $4,328,255 over the last three months. 5.26% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Wedbush lowered shares of Walker & Dunlop from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their price target for the company from $130.00 to $95.00 in a report on Thursday, April 11th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reiterated a “market perform” rating and set a $105.00 target price on shares of Walker & Dunlop in a research report on Tuesday, March 26th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of Walker & Dunlop from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Friday, March 22nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and three have assigned a hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Walker & Dunlop has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $100.00.

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.