Walker & Dunlop (WD Quick QuoteWD - Free Report) shares ended the last trading session 6.7% higher at $108.67. The jump came on an impressive volume with a higher-than-average number of shares changing hands in the session. This compares to the stock's 1.7% gain over the past four weeks.

The stock extended its rally for the third consecutive day. In fact, it touched a new 52-week high of $109.41 in last day's trading session. Growing investor optimism surrounding the expectation of an accelerated recovery of the economy drove the stock higher. The optimistic sentiments can be attributable to the steepening of the yield curve, the extensive vaccination drive, additional government spending and favorable economic data.

Price and Consensus

This provider of commercial real estate financial services is expected to post quarterly earnings of $2.01 per share in its upcoming report, which represents a year-over-year change of +34.9%. Revenues are expected to be $246.7 million, up 5.4% from the year-ago quarter.

Earnings and revenue growth expectations certainly give a good sense of the potential strength in a stock, but empirical research shows that trends in earnings estimate revisions are strongly correlated with near-term stock price movements.

For Walker & Dunlop, the consensus EPS estimate for the quarter has remained unchanged over the last 30 days. And a stock's price usually doesn't keep moving higher in the absence of any trend in earnings estimate revisions. So, make sure to keep an eye on WD going forward to see if this recent jump can turn into more strength down the road.

The stock currently carries a Zacks Rank 1 (Strong Buy). You can see the complete list of today's Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) stocks here >>>>