Willdan Group (NASDAQ:WLDN) Given Outperform Rating at Wedbush

Wedbush reiterated their outperform rating on shares of Willdan Group (NASDAQ:WLDN) in a research note published on Monday morning, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a $35.00 price objective on the construction company’s stock.

Other equities research analysts have also recently issued research reports about the stock. StockNews.com cut shares of Willdan Group from a strong-buy rating to a buy rating in a research note on Saturday, March 16th. Roth Mkm reissued a buy rating and set a $34.00 price target (up from $27.00) on shares of Willdan Group in a report on Friday, March 22nd.

Willdan Group Trading Up 4.9 %

Shares of Willdan Group stock opened at $32.82 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $453.57 million, a PE ratio of 35.29 and a beta of 1.47. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $26.73 and a 200 day moving average price of $22.29. Willdan Group has a 1 year low of $15.42 and a 1 year high of $33.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 1.67 and a quick ratio of 1.67.

Willdan Group (NASDAQ:WLDN) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 7th. The construction company reported $0.72 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.35 by $0.37. Willdan Group had a return on equity of 10.80% and a net margin of 2.44%. The business had revenue of $155.68 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $160.00 million. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.25 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Willdan Group will post 1.5 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other Willdan Group news, major shareholder Fund L.P. Forager sold 86,483 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $31.25, for a total transaction of $2,702,593.75. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 1,641,258 shares in the company, valued at $51,289,312.50. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders sold 147,147 shares of company stock worth $4,462,997 over the last three months. 9.80% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Willdan Group

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. SG Americas Securities LLC purchased a new stake in Willdan Group during the 3rd quarter valued at about $109,000. Strs Ohio acquired a new stake in shares of Willdan Group in the third quarter valued at approximately $422,000. Summit Creek Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Willdan Group by 0.4% in the third quarter. Summit Creek Advisors LLC now owns 382,803 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $7,821,000 after purchasing an additional 1,587 shares during the last quarter. Panagora Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in Willdan Group by 28.7% during the third quarter. Panagora Asset Management Inc. now owns 42,330 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $865,000 after buying an additional 9,441 shares in the last quarter. Finally, New York State Common Retirement Fund boosted its stake in Willdan Group by 62.6% during the third quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 5,200 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $106,000 after buying an additional 2,001 shares during the last quarter. 72.29% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.