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 report report published on Saturday morning.

Several other equities analysts have also weighed in on the stock. Wedbush reissued an outperform rating and issued a $35.00 price objective on shares of Willdan Group in a research report on Monday, May 6th. Roth Mkm increased their price objective on shares of Willdan Group from $34.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research note on Friday.

Willdan Group Price Performance

Shares of WLDN opened at $36.24 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a quick ratio of 1.79 and a current ratio of 1.79. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $31.28 and a 200 day simple moving average of $27.55. Willdan Group has a 52-week low of $17.09 and a 52-week high of $38.25. The firm has a market capitalization of $500.84 million, a PE ratio of 38.97 and a beta of 1.38.

Willdan Group (NASDAQ:WLDN) last released its earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The construction company reported $0.44 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.29 by $0.15. Willdan Group had a return on equity of 12.27% and a net margin of 3.10%. The firm had revenue of $141.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $123.07 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.19 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Willdan Group will post 1.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Willdan Group

In related news, major shareholder Fund L.P. Forager sold 1,799 shares of Willdan Group stock in a transaction on Monday, May 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $32.32, for a total value of $58,143.68. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 1,522,895 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $49,219,966.40. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, major shareholder Fund L.P. Forager sold 1,799 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $32.32, for a total value of $58,143.68. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 1,522,895 shares in the company, valued at $49,219,966.40. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Thomas Donald Brisbin sold 7,347 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $32.01, for a total transaction of $235,177.47. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 413,908 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,249,195.08. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 312,812 shares of company stock valued at $9,603,631 in the last quarter. 9.80% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Willdan Group

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in WLDN. SG Americas Securities LLC boosted its position in Willdan Group by 27.2% during the fourth quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 6,776 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $146,000 after purchasing an additional 1,448 shares during the period. Conestoga Capital Advisors LLC raised its stake in Willdan Group by 4.2% in the fourth quarter. Conestoga Capital Advisors LLC now owns 55,283 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $1,189,000 after purchasing an additional 2,210 shares in the last quarter. Bailard Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Willdan Group during the fourth quarter worth approximately $258,000. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Willdan Group during the fourth quarter worth approximately $309,000. Finally, Rock Point Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Willdan Group by 1.4% during the fourth quarter. Rock Point Advisors LLC now owns 329,475 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $7,084,000 after acquiring an additional 4,464 shares in the last quarter. 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.