Willdan Group (NASDAQ:WLDN) Reaches New 1-Year Low – Here’s Why

Willdan Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:WLDN)’s stock price reached a new 52-week low during trading on Friday. The stock traded as low as $64.60 and last traded at $65.95, with a volume of 52,662 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $70.85.

Key Willdan Group News

Here are the key news stories impacting Willdan Group this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Third-quarter contract revenue rose 17.9% to $214.5 million, net revenue increased 18.1% to $112.2 million, and adjusted EBITDA grew 22.4% to $28.3 million. Adjusted diluted EPS of $1.20 exceeded the $1.08 analyst estimate. Willdan Group Reports Third Quarter Results
• Positive Sentiment: Willdan was selected as one of 26 providers for the New York Power Authority’s Energy Services Program, with contracts running for ten years. Work will be assigned as projects arise, so the selection creates an opportunity but does not guarantee revenue. Willdan Selected To Be a NYPA Statewide Energy Services Provider
• Positive Sentiment: The company said it will provide engineering for energy-infrastructure projects totaling 643 megawatts, adding to its project opportunities. Willdan to Provide Engineering for 643 MW in Energy Infrastructure Projects
• Negative Sentiment: Despite revenue growth and the EPS beat, net income fell 13.6% and GAAP diluted EPS declined 15.6% year over year. Adjusted diluted EPS was also slightly lower than the $1.21 reported a year earlier, which may temper the positive headline beat. Willdan Group Reports Third Quarter Results

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on WLDN shares. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Willdan Group in a research report on Monday, October 19th. Yorkville Ives began coverage on shares of Willdan Group in a report on Monday, October 5th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $100.00 target price for the company. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Willdan Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, August 15th. Zacks Research raised shares of Willdan Group from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 7th. Finally, Wedbush reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $130.00 price target on shares of Willdan Group in a report on Wednesday, September 23rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have assigned a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Willdan Group presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $118.33.

Willdan Group Price Performance

The company has a current ratio of 1.37, a quick ratio of 1.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19. The company has a 50 day moving average of $77.60 and a 200-day moving average of $86.20. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.56 and a beta of 1.28.

Willdan Group (NASDAQ:WLDN) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 5th. The construction company reported $1.20 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.08 by $0.12. Willdan Group had a return on equity of 24.51% and a net margin of 8.80%. The firm had revenue of $214.53 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $107.77 million. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Willdan Group, Inc. will post 4.06 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Willdan Group

In related news, Director Thomas Brisbin sold 58,757 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $88.14, for a total transaction of $5,178,841.98. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 96,687 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,521,992.18. This trade represents a 37.80% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders have sold 67,101 shares of company stock valued at $5,871,388 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 5.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holdings in shares of Willdan Group by 7.5% during the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 308,947 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $23,652,000 after purchasing an additional 21,669 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc bought a new stake in shares of Willdan Group in the second quarter valued at approximately $1,107,000. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its stake in Willdan Group by 30.2% during the 2nd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 28,039 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $2,218,000 after acquiring an additional 6,496 shares during the period. Handelsbanken Fonder AB raised its holdings in Willdan Group by 34.3% in the 2nd quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 191,532 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $15,150,000 after acquiring an additional 48,876 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp acquired a new position in Willdan Group in the 2nd quarter valued at $4,663,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 72.29% of the company’s stock.

Willdan Group Company Profile

Willdan Group, Inc (NASDAQ:WLDN) is a professional services company that provides technical, consulting and infrastructure solutions to utilities, government agencies and commercial clients. The company operates primarily in the United States, with a strong presence in California and other markets where energy, infrastructure and public-sector modernization services are in demand.

Through its energy-focused operations, Willdan designs and implements energy-efficiency, demand-response, electrification and distributed-energy programs.