DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale Acquires Shares of 25,000 Willdan Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:WLDN)

DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale acquired a new position in Willdan Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:WLDN) in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 25,000 shares of the construction company’s stock, valued at approximately $707,000. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale owned 0.18% of Willdan Group at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Swedbank AB purchased a new position in Willdan Group in the 1st quarter worth approximately $12,628,000. Acadian Asset Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Willdan Group by 1,905.2% in the 2nd quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 55,144 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $1,588,000 after acquiring an additional 52,394 shares in the last quarter. Tidal Investments LLC bought a new stake in Willdan Group during the first quarter worth about $1,239,000. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Willdan Group by 155.0% in the 2nd quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 42,598 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $1,229,000 after buying an additional 25,895 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Quadrature Capital Ltd grew its stake in shares of Willdan Group by 85.6% in the first quarter. Quadrature Capital Ltd now owns 46,531 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $1,339,000 after acquiring an additional 21,459 shares during the last quarter. 72.29% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Willdan Group Stock Performance

WLDN stock opened at $41.12 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.81, a current ratio of 1.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40. The firm has a market cap of $575.27 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 44.22 and a beta of 1.40. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $36.29 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $31.58. Willdan Group, Inc. has a twelve month low of $17.09 and a twelve month high of $41.54.

Willdan Group (NASDAQ:WLDN) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The construction company reported $0.44 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.29 by $0.15. The company had revenue of $141.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 last year, the firm earned $0.19 earnings per share. Analysts predict that Willdan Group, Inc. will post 1.72 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, major shareholder Fund L.P. Forager sold 188,230 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the insider now directly owns 1,255,765 shares in the company, valued at approximately $37,585,046.45. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other Willdan Group news, CFO Creighton K. Early sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 7th. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at approximately $2,491,065.90. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, major shareholder Fund L.P. Forager sold 188,230 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 9th. The shares were 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 approximately $37,585,046.45. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 218,535 shares of company stock valued at $6,739,175 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 9.80% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WLDN has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Roth Mkm increased their target price on Willdan Group from $34.00 to $47.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. StockNews.com raised shares of Willdan Group from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 3rd. Finally, Wedbush began coverage on Willdan Group in a report on Tuesday, September 3rd. They set an “outperform” rating and a $51.00 price target for the company.

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.