Written by StockNews.com

Jones Lang LaSalle Inc. (NYSE:  JLL) early Friday posted better than expected ffirst-quarterearnings results, as demand remained robust for its professional services.

The Chicago-based commercial real estate giant reported Q1:

• earnings per share (EPS) of $0.45, which was $0.06 better than the Wall Street consensus estimate of $0.39 [and that]
• revenues rose 20.8% from last year to $1.62 billion, compared with analysts’ view for $1.46 billion.

Source: http://stockcharts.com

On another positive note, JLL boosted its dividend by 6%, to $0.35 per share from a prior $0.33 per share. The new dividend will be paid on June 15, 2017, to shareholders of record as of May 15, 2017.

...[Christian Ulbrich, CEO] commented via press release:

“Strong revenue growth and continued market share gains combined with expected margin performance contributed to solid first-quarter results...

Favorable market conditions and healthy prospects for new business make us confident we will deliver on the expectations we have set for the year.”...

...Year-to-date, JLL has gained 15.27%, versus a 7.28% rise in the benchmark S&P 500 index during the same period.

JLL currently has a StockNews.com POWR Rating of A (Strong Buy) and is ranked #3 of 25 stocks in the Real Estate Services category.