CoreLogic Inc. marked its second anniversary as a stand-alone public company with one of its better stretches of stock performance, thanks in large part to signs of improvement in the mortgage industry.
The Santa Ana-based provider of mortgage and real estate information was spun off from title insurer First American Corp. in June 2010. It recently boosted full-year financial forecasts, citing internal improvements as well as a more favorable business en-vironment.
The company now expects earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization of $370 million to $390 million this year. It forecasts 2012 revenue between $1.45 billion and $1.48 billion.
It previously expected EBITDA of $340 million to $360 million on revenue of $1.4 billion to $1.45 billion.
The company also said it expects to report double-digit boosts in profit and revenue from a year earlier for the first six months of 2012.
CoreLogic is set to report second-quarter financial results on July 23.
Its shares rose almost 5% after the improved guidance was issued, giving the company a market value of about $2.1 billion as of last week. The company’s stock has risen nearly 50% this year to its highest level since early 2011.
CoreLogic’s valuation now consistently exceeds that of its onetime parent—now called First American Financial Corp.—for the first time since its split with the Santa Ana-based company. First American Financial, whose owns stock has seen an upswing during 2012, has a market value of about $1.8 billion.
• Headquarters: Santa Ana
• Business: provider of Mortgage and real estate information
• Founded: June 2010
• Ticker symbol: CLGX (NYSE)
• 2011 revenue: $1.34 billion
• Recent earnings: $29.1 million in Q1
• Market value: About $2.09 billion
• Notable: Bigger market cap than onetime parent, title insurance company First American Financial Corp.
CoreLogic provides a variety of consumer, financial and property data to lenders, corporations and government agencies. The company—which plans to move its headquarters to the Irvine Spectrum later this year—has one of the largest real estate, mortgage application, fraud, and loan performance databases in the country.
The upgraded earnings expectations “reflect the improving outlook for mortgage origination levels, successful execution of our cost savings initiatives, and higher profitability in each of our operating segments,” said Anand Nallathambi, CoreLogic’s president and chief executive.
The company’s projections assume the volume of mortgage loans will hit about $1.3 trillion this year. That’s higher than prior industry estimates, based on stronger-than-expected refinancing activity.
Corelogic expects overall mortgage delinquency volumes will decline at least 10% from 2011 levels.
“There are green shoots that indicate the (housing) market has turned for good,” Nallathambi said last month in a quarterly market letter. “Home sales are up. Inventory is down.
“Of course for every green shoot there is a caveat,” he added. “The credit markets remain tight, the purchase-to-refinance market ratio is upside down, and much of the positive news is still regional in nature.”
Whether CoreLogic’s own business has turned for the good also remains to be seen.
The company has seen its share of headlines over the past year, as it mulled and then abandoned a potential sale, exited non-core business lines and enacted a cost-savings initiative that’s resulted in slimmed-down operations and employee counts.
It also had a protracted and public battle with one of its largest shareholders, Boston-based Highfields Capital Management LP, over the company’s strategy, executive team and make-up of its board of directors.
CoreLogic announced last month it had settled a potential proxy fight with Highfields.
