Washington Mutual (WM-NYSE) posted earnings of $1.10 EPS, but that number included a large gain of $415 million and charges of $100 million. Earnings from operations were expected to be $0.88 EPS, so thi sin’t exactly an apples to apples comparison.
The company used the proceeds from the sale of WM-Advisors and it repurchased $2.7 Billion in stock on an accelerated plan on January 3, 2007. It has laso hiked its dividend from $0.53 to $0.54. Shares are down 1.1% in after-hours at $43.25, and that is after closing down 0.75% at $43.73 in regular trading hours. Its 52-week trading range is pretty tight at $41.03 to $47.01, and if WM ever sees any severe weakness it has been thought of as a potential takeout candidate from one of the larger money center banks or potentially by a foreign lender.
The bank posted return on common equity of 16%, had net interest margin of 2.58%, and had 0.8% in non-performing assets.
Jon C. Ogg
January 17, 2007
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