Acadian Asset Management LLC Raises Stock Position in Willdan Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:WLDN)

Acadian Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Willdan Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:WLDN) by 1,905.2% in the second quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 55,144 shares of the construction company’s stock after purchasing an additional 52,394 shares during the quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Willdan Group were worth $1,588,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of WLDN. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Willdan Group by 155.0% during the second quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 42,598 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $1,229,000 after purchasing an additional 25,895 shares during the period. Rhumbline Advisers grew its stake in shares of Willdan Group by 9.7% during the 2nd quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 20,494 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $591,000 after acquiring an additional 1,818 shares during the period. IQ EQ FUND MANAGEMENT IRELAND Ltd bought a new position in shares of Willdan Group during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $533,000. Swedbank AB bought a new stake in Willdan Group during the 1st quarter worth approximately $12,628,000. Finally, Comerica Bank raised its stake in Willdan Group by 4.2% during the 1st quarter. Comerica Bank now owns 9,864 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $286,000 after acquiring an additional 395 shares during the period. 72.29% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Willdan Group Trading Up 1.6 %

Shares of WLDN stock opened at $38.07 on Friday. Willdan Group, Inc. has a 52-week low of $17.09 and a 52-week high of $40.51. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $532.60 million, a PE ratio of 40.94 and a beta of 1.40. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $35.58 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $31.05.

Willdan Group (NASDAQ:WLDN) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The construction company reported $0.44 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 business had revenue of $141.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $123.07 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.19 EPS. On average, analysts predict that Willdan Group, Inc. will post 1.72 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Willdan Group news, CEO Michael A. Bieber sold 750 shares of Willdan Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $36.46, for a total value of $27,345.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 169,726 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,188,209.96. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other Willdan Group news, CEO Michael A. Bieber sold 9,209 shares of Willdan Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $36.36, for a total value 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. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Michael A. Bieber sold 750 shares of Willdan Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $36.46, for a total value of $27,345.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 169,726 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,188,209.96. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 225,637 shares of company stock worth $6,947,919. Corporate insiders own 9.80% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on WLDN. Wedbush began coverage on shares of Willdan Group in a research note on Tuesday, September 3rd. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $51.00 price objective for the company. Roth Mkm increased their price target on Willdan Group from $34.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Willdan Group from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 3rd.

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.