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 issued to investors on Monday morning, Benzinga reports. They currently have a $35.00 target price on the construction company’s stock.

A number of other research firms also recently issued reports on WLDN. StockNews.com lowered Willdan Group from a strong-buy rating to a buy rating in a research note on Saturday, March 16th. Roth Mkm reiterated a buy rating and set a $34.00 target price (up from $27.00) on shares of Willdan Group in a report on Friday, March 22nd.

Willdan Group Trading Up 3.9 %

WLDN stock opened at $34.40 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $475.30 million, a PE ratio of 36.99 and a beta of 1.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 1.79 and a quick ratio of 1.67. Willdan Group has a 12 month low of $15.87 and a 12 month high of $34.50. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $27.51 and its 200 day moving average is $22.55.

Willdan Group (NASDAQ:WLDN) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 7th. The construction company reported $0.72 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.35 by $0.37. Willdan Group had a net margin of 2.44% and a return on equity of 10.62%. The firm had revenue of $155.68 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $160.00 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.25 earnings per share. On average, research analysts anticipate that Willdan Group will post 1.5 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Willdan Group news, major shareholder Fund L.P. Forager sold 50,208 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $28.85, for a total value of $1,448,500.80. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 1,748,416 shares in the company, valued at $50,441,801.60. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders sold a total of 163,684 shares of company stock worth $5,007,042 in the last 90 days. 9.80% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Willdan Group

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Essex Investment Management Co. LLC raised its position in shares of Willdan Group by 1.6% in the 1st quarter. Essex Investment Management Co. LLC now owns 135,336 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $3,923,000 after purchasing an additional 2,100 shares during the last quarter. Wulff Hansen & CO. increased its stake in Willdan Group by 19.3% during the 1st quarter. Wulff Hansen & CO. now owns 23,165 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $672,000 after purchasing an additional 3,750 shares in the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets raised its holdings in shares of Willdan Group by 82.5% in the first quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 6,080 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $176,000 after buying an additional 2,748 shares during the last quarter. Conestoga Capital Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Willdan Group by 1.0% during the first quarter. Conestoga Capital Advisors LLC now owns 55,823 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $1,618,000 after buying an additional 540 shares during the period. Finally, Los Angeles Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Willdan Group by 16.2% in the 1st quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 16,703 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $484,000 after acquiring an additional 2,329 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 72.29% of the company’s stock.

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.