StockNews.com Upgrades Willdan Group (NASDAQ:WLDN) to Strong-Buy

Willdan Group (NASDAQ:WLDN) was upgraded by analysts at StockNews.com from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report issued on Tuesday.

Other analysts have also recently issued reports about the company. Wedbush assumed coverage on Willdan Group in a research report on Tuesday. They set an “outperform” rating and a $51.00 price objective on the stock. Roth Mkm boosted their price target on shares of Willdan Group from $34.00 to $47.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd.

Willdan Group Stock Up 0.8 %

WLDN opened at $38.32 on Tuesday. The business has a 50 day moving average of $34.39 and a 200-day moving average of $30.30. The stock has a market capitalization of $529.47 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.20 and a beta of 1.38. The company has a current ratio of 1.81, a quick ratio of 1.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40. Willdan Group has a 1-year low of $17.09 and a 1-year high of $40.51.

Willdan Group (NASDAQ:WLDN) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The construction company reported $0.44 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.29 by $0.15. Willdan Group had a net margin of 3.10% and a return on equity of 12.06%. The company had revenue of $141.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $123.07 million. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.19 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Willdan Group will post 1.63 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other Willdan Group news, major shareholder Fund L.P. Forager sold 188,230 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 1,255,765 shares in the company, valued at $37,585,046.45. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other Willdan Group news, major shareholder Fund L.P. Forager sold 188,230 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $29.93, for a total value of $5,633,723.90. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 1,255,765 shares in the company, valued at $37,585,046.45. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Michael A. Bieber sold 750 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $36.46, for a total transaction of $27,345.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 169,726 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,188,209.96. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 256,004 shares of company stock worth $7,890,685. Company insiders own 9.80% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Willdan Group

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Quadrature Capital Ltd lifted its position in Willdan Group by 85.6% during the 1st quarter. Quadrature Capital Ltd now owns 46,531 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $1,339,000 after buying an additional 21,459 shares in the last quarter. Swedbank AB bought a new stake in shares of Willdan Group during the first quarter valued at approximately $12,628,000. Tidal Investments LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Willdan Group in the first quarter valued at approximately $1,239,000. Panagora Asset Management Inc. raised its position in Willdan Group by 14.7% in the 4th quarter. Panagora Asset Management Inc. now owns 48,546 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $1,044,000 after purchasing an additional 6,216 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Los Angeles Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Willdan Group during the 4th quarter worth $309,000. Institutional investors 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.