Willdan Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:WLDN) Sees Large Increase in Short Interest

Willdan Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:WLDN) saw a significant increase in short interest during the month of October. As of October 15th, there was short interest totalling 413,600 shares, an increase of 33.9% from the September 30th total of 308,900 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 165,600 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.5 days.

Willdan Group Price Performance

Willdan Group stock opened at $45.34 on Monday. Willdan Group has a 1 year low of $17.09 and a 1 year high of $46.64. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $40.69 and a 200 day moving average price of $34.63. The company has a market cap of $634.31 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.86 and a beta of 1.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40, a quick ratio of 1.81 and a current ratio of 1.81.

Willdan Group (NASDAQ:WLDN) last released 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. Willdan Group had a net margin of 3.10% and a return on equity of 12.06%. The firm had revenue of $141.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $123.07 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.19 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that Willdan Group will post 1.72 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Wedbush assumed coverage on shares of Willdan Group in a report on Tuesday, September 3rd. They set an “outperform” rating and a $51.00 price target for the company. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Willdan Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Finally, Roth Mkm lifted their price target on shares of Willdan Group from $34.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Willdan Group news, CEO Michael A. Bieber sold 9,209 shares of Willdan Group stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $36.36, for a total transaction of $334,839.24. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 169,726 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,171,237.36. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other Willdan Group news, CEO Michael A. Bieber sold 750 shares of Willdan Group stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $36.46, for a total transaction of $27,345.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 169,726 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,188,209.96. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Michael A. Bieber sold 9,209 shares of Willdan Group stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $36.36, for a total transaction of $334,839.24. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 169,726 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,171,237.36. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 30,305 shares of company stock worth $1,105,451. Insiders own 9.80% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Willdan Group

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of WLDN. BNP Paribas Financial Markets grew its stake in Willdan Group by 82.5% during the first quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 6,080 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $176,000 after buying an additional 2,748 shares during the period. Wulff Hansen & CO. grew its stake in Willdan Group by 19.3% during the first quarter. Wulff Hansen & CO. now owns 23,165 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $672,000 after buying an additional 3,750 shares during the period. Essex Investment Management Co. LLC grew its stake in Willdan Group by 1.6% during the first quarter. Essex Investment Management Co. LLC now owns 135,336 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $3,923,000 after buying an additional 2,100 shares during the period. Acadian Asset Management LLC grew its stake in Willdan Group by 168.3% during the first quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 2,750 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $78,000 after buying an additional 1,725 shares during the period. Finally, Summit Creek Advisors LLC grew its stake in Willdan Group by 3.3% during the first quarter. Summit Creek Advisors LLC now owns 374,597 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $10,860,000 after buying an additional 12,056 shares during the period. 72.29% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Willdan Group Company Profile

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.