Willdan Group (NASDAQ:WLDN) Upgraded at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Willdan Group (NASDAQ:WLDN) from a buy rating to a strong-buy rating in a research note published on Tuesday morning.

Several other research analysts have also weighed in on the stock. Roth Mkm upped their target price on shares of Willdan Group from $34.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Wedbush started coverage on shares of Willdan Group in a research report on Tuesday. They issued an outperform rating and a $51.00 price target on the stock.

Willdan Group Price Performance

Shares of WLDN opened at $37.59 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40, a current ratio of 1.81 and a quick ratio of 1.81. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $34.77 and a 200 day moving average price of $30.47. Willdan Group has a 1-year low of $17.09 and a 1-year high of $40.51. The stock has a market cap of $525.88 million, a PE ratio of 40.42 and a beta of 1.40.

Willdan Group (NASDAQ:WLDN) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The construction company reported $0.44 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.29 by $0.15. Willdan Group had a net margin of 3.10% and a return on equity of 12.06%. The company had revenue of $141.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $123.07 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.19 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Willdan Group will post 1.72 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Willdan Group

In related news, CEO Michael A. Bieber sold 3,333 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $31.03, for a total transaction of $103,422.99. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 164,361 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,100,121.83. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In related news, CEO Michael A. Bieber sold 3,333 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $31.03, for a total transaction of $103,422.99. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 164,361 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,100,121.83. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Creighton K. Early sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $36.45, for a total transaction of $364,500.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 68,342 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,491,065.90. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 256,004 shares of company stock valued at $7,890,685. Company insiders own 9.80% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Willdan Group

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Wulff Hansen & CO. raised its stake in shares of Willdan Group by 2,785.0% in the 2nd quarter. Wulff Hansen & CO. now owns 668,310 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $19,281,000 after acquiring an additional 645,145 shares during the period. Swedbank AB acquired a new stake in Willdan Group during the 1st quarter valued at $12,628,000. Acadian Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in Willdan Group by 1,905.2% during the 2nd quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 55,144 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $1,588,000 after purchasing an additional 52,394 shares in the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC grew its holdings in Willdan Group by 339.9% during the 2nd quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 55,426 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $1,599,000 after purchasing an additional 42,826 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Tidal Investments LLC acquired a new stake in Willdan Group during the 1st quarter valued at $1,239,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 72.29% of the company’s stock.

About Willdan Group

Willdan Group, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, provides professional, technical, and consulting services primarily in the United States. It operates in two segments, Energy, and Engineering and Consulting. The Energy segment offers comprehensive audit and surveys, program design and implementation, master planning, demand reduction, grid optimization, benchmarking analyses, design engineering, construction management, performance contracting, installation, alternative financing, measurement and verification services, and software and data analytics, as well as energy consulting and engineering, turnkey facility and infrastructure projects, and customer support services.