Willdan Group (NASDAQ:WLDN) Sets New 12-Month High at $40.79

Willdan Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:WLDN)’s stock price hit a new 52-week high on Thursday . The company traded as high as $40.79 and last traded at $40.79, with a volume of 134677 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $38.53.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on WLDN shares. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Willdan Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday. Roth Mkm boosted their target price on shares of Willdan Group from $34.00 to $47.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, Wedbush started coverage on shares of Willdan Group in a research note on Tuesday, September 3rd. They set an “outperform” rating and a $51.00 target price for the company.

Willdan Group Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40, a quick ratio of 1.81 and a current ratio of 1.81. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $36.44 and its 200-day simple moving average is $31.72. The stock has a market capitalization of $556.27 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 43.29 and a beta of 1.40.

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

Insider Transactions at Willdan Group

In other news, 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 value of $364,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 68,342 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,491,065.90. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, 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 value of $364,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 68,342 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,491,065.90. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, major shareholder Fund L.P. Forager sold 188,230 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $29.93, for a total transaction of $5,633,723.90. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 1,255,765 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $37,585,046.45. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 218,535 shares of company stock valued at $6,739,175. Company insiders own 9.80% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Willdan Group

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. ProShare Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Willdan Group in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $48,000. Acadian Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Willdan Group by 168.3% in the 1st quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 2,750 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $78,000 after purchasing an additional 1,725 shares in the last quarter. EntryPoint Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Willdan Group in the 1st quarter worth approximately $90,000. BNP Paribas Financial Markets raised its holdings in shares of Willdan Group by 82.5% in the 1st quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 6,080 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $176,000 after purchasing an additional 2,748 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Lazard Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Willdan Group by 73.6% in the 1st quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 6,800 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $197,000 after purchasing an additional 2,882 shares in the last quarter. 72.29% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.