Willdan Group (NASDAQ:WLDN) Upgraded by StockNews.com to “Strong-Buy”

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.

Other analysts have also issued research reports about the company. Wedbush assumed coverage on Willdan Group in a report on Tuesday. They issued an outperform rating and a $51.00 target price for the company. Roth Mkm increased their target price on Willdan Group from $34.00 to $47.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd.

Willdan Group Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:WLDN opened at $38.03 on Tuesday. Willdan Group has a one year low of $17.09 and a one year high of $40.51. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $34.18 and a 200-day moving average of $30.24. The company has a market capitalization of $525.46 million, a PE ratio of 40.89 and a beta of 1.38. 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 announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 1st. The construction company reported $0.44 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.29 by $0.15. Willdan Group had a return on equity of 12.06% and a net margin of 3.10%. The company had revenue of $141.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $123.07 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.19 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Willdan Group will post 1.63 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Michael A. Bieber sold 750 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $36.46, for a total value of $27,345.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 169,726 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,188,209.96. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, CEO Michael A. Bieber sold 750 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $36.46, for a total value of $27,345.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 169,726 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,188,209.96. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Mohammad Shahidehpour sold 3,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, June 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $30.83, for a total transaction of $92,490.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 12,792 shares in the company, valued at $394,377.36. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 268,844 shares of company stock worth $8,301,950 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 9.80% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Willdan Group

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of WLDN. Wulff Hansen & CO. increased its position in Willdan Group by 2,785.0% during the second quarter. Wulff Hansen & CO. now owns 668,310 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $19,281,000 after buying an additional 645,145 shares during the last quarter. Swedbank AB acquired a new position in Willdan Group during the first quarter worth $12,628,000. Acadian Asset Management LLC increased its position in Willdan Group by 1,905.2% during the second quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 55,144 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $1,588,000 after buying an additional 52,394 shares during the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC increased its position in Willdan Group by 339.9% during the second quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 55,426 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $1,599,000 after buying an additional 42,826 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Tidal Investments LLC acquired a new position in Willdan Group during the first quarter worth $1,239,000. 72.29% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.