Magnetar Financial LLC Makes New Investment in Willdan Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:WLDN)

Magnetar Financial LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Willdan Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:WLDN) during the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund acquired 8,153 shares of the construction company’s stock, valued at approximately $235,000. Magnetar Financial LLC owned about 0.06% of Willdan Group at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in WLDN. ProShare Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Willdan Group during the 2nd quarter valued at about $48,000. Renaissance Technologies LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Willdan Group by 339.9% during the second quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 55,426 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $1,599,000 after purchasing an additional 42,826 shares during the period. Wulff Hansen & CO. boosted its position in Willdan Group by 2,785.0% in the second quarter. Wulff Hansen & CO. now owns 668,310 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $19,281,000 after buying an additional 645,145 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holdings in Willdan Group by 14.6% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 324,145 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $9,351,000 after buying an additional 41,367 shares during the period. Finally, DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale acquired a new position in Willdan Group in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $707,000. 72.29% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Willdan Group

In other Willdan Group news, major shareholder Fund L.P. Forager sold 188,230 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the insider now owns 1,255,765 shares in the company, valued at $37,585,046.45. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, CEO Michael A. Bieber sold 750 shares of Willdan Group stock in a transaction on Monday, August 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $36.46, for a total value of $27,345.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 169,726 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,188,209.96. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, major shareholder Fund L.P. Forager sold 188,230 shares of the company’s 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 transaction, the insider now owns 1,255,765 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $37,585,046.45. 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 90 days. Corporate insiders own 9.80% of the company’s stock.

Willdan Group Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ WLDN opened at $39.85 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40, a current ratio of 1.81 and a quick ratio of 1.81. The stock has a market capitalization of $557.50 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 42.85 and a beta of 1.40. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $36.83 and its 200-day simple moving average is $32.19. Willdan Group, Inc. has a 12 month low of $17.09 and a 12 month high of $41.54.

Willdan Group (NASDAQ:WLDN) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The construction company reported $0.44 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.29 by $0.15. The company had revenue of $141.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $123.07 million. Willdan Group had a net margin of 3.10% and a return on equity of 12.06%. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.19 earnings per share. Analysts expect that Willdan Group, Inc. will post 1.72 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WLDN has been the topic of several recent research reports. Roth Mkm upped their price objective 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. Wedbush assumed coverage on Willdan Group in a research report on Tuesday, September 3rd. They set an “outperform” rating and a $51.00 price target on the stock. Finally, StockNews.com lowered Willdan Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, September 20th.

Willdan Group Profile

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.