Willdan Group (NASDAQ:WLDN) Downgraded to “Buy” at StockNews.com

Willdan Group (NASDAQ:WLDN) was downgraded by analysts at StockNews.com from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a note issued to investors on Friday.

A number of other brokerages also recently issued reports on WLDN. Wedbush assumed coverage on Willdan Group in a research note on Tuesday, September 3rd. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $51.00 price objective on the stock. Roth Mkm raised their price objective on shares of Willdan Group from $34.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd.

Willdan Group Trading Down 2.1 %

Shares of Willdan Group stock traded down $0.86 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $40.26. The company had a trading volume of 324,864 shares, compared to its average volume of 81,476. The firm has a market cap of $563.24 million, a PE ratio of 43.29 and a beta of 1.40. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $36.44 and a 200 day moving average price of $31.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40, a current ratio of 1.81 and a quick ratio of 1.81. Willdan Group has a fifty-two week low of $17.09 and a fifty-two week high of $41.54.

Willdan Group (NASDAQ:WLDN) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 1st. The construction company reported $0.44 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 in the prior year, the firm posted $0.19 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Willdan Group will post 1.72 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, major shareholder Fund L.P. Forager sold 188,230 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $29.93, for a total value 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 sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In related news, major shareholder Fund L.P. Forager sold 188,230 shares of Willdan Group stock in a transaction on 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 completion of the sale, the insider now owns 1,255,765 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $37,585,046.45. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Creighton K. Early sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $36.45, for a total transaction of $364,500.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 68,342 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,491,065.90. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 218,535 shares of company stock worth $6,739,175 in the last three months. Company insiders own 9.80% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Willdan Group

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. ProShare Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Willdan Group in the second quarter worth approximately $48,000. Acadian Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in Willdan Group by 168.3% during the 1st quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 2,750 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $78,000 after acquiring an additional 1,725 shares in the last quarter. EntryPoint Capital LLC purchased a new position in Willdan Group during the 1st quarter worth $90,000. BNP Paribas Financial Markets grew its stake in shares of Willdan Group by 82.5% in the 1st quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 6,080 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $176,000 after acquiring an additional 2,748 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Lazard Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Willdan Group by 73.6% in the first quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 6,800 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $197,000 after purchasing an additional 2,882 shares during the last quarter. 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.