Principal Financial Group Inc. Takes Position in Willdan Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:WLDN)

Principal Financial Group Inc. purchased a new position in Willdan Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:WLDN) in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor purchased 7,530 shares of the construction company’s stock, valued at approximately $308,000.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of WLDN. nVerses Capital LLC increased its stake in Willdan Group by 125.0% in the third quarter. nVerses Capital LLC now owns 900 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 500 shares during the period. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Willdan Group during the third quarter valued at $44,000. ProShare Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Willdan Group during the second quarter valued at $48,000. Acadian Asset Management LLC boosted its position 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 valued at $78,000 after purchasing an additional 1,725 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Lazard Asset Management LLC boosted its position in Willdan Group by 73.6% during the first quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 6,800 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $197,000 after purchasing an additional 2,882 shares in the last quarter. 72.29% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Willdan Group Stock Up 2.1 %

Shares of WLDN opened at $42.66 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37, a quick ratio of 1.77 and a current ratio of 1.77. Willdan Group, Inc. has a one year low of $17.23 and a one year high of $50.00. The stock has a market capitalization of $602.36 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.17 and a beta of 1.39. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $43.15 and a 200 day moving average price of $36.80.

Analyst Ratings Changes

WLDN has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Wedbush reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $51.00 price target on shares of Willdan Group in a report on Monday, November 4th. StockNews.com cut Willdan Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. Finally, Roth Mkm boosted their price objective on Willdan Group from $34.00 to $47.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Michael A. Bieber sold 1,804 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $45.86, for a total value of $82,731.44. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 173,654 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,963,772.44. This represents a 1.03 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 9.80% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.