Willdan Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:WLDN) Shares Acquired by Renaissance Technologies LLC

Renaissance Technologies LLC boosted its stake in Willdan Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:WLDN) by 339.9% during the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 55,426 shares of the construction company’s stock after purchasing an additional 42,826 shares during the period. Renaissance Technologies LLC’s holdings in Willdan Group were worth $1,599,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Quadrature Capital Ltd lifted its stake in Willdan Group by 85.6% during the first quarter. Quadrature Capital Ltd now owns 46,531 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $1,339,000 after purchasing an additional 21,459 shares during the last quarter. Swedbank AB acquired a new position in Willdan Group in the first quarter worth approximately $12,628,000. Tidal Investments LLC bought a new position in shares of Willdan Group in the first quarter valued at $1,239,000. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale acquired a new stake in shares of Willdan Group during the 2nd quarter valued at $707,000. Finally, Wulff Hansen & CO. boosted its stake in shares of Willdan Group by 2,785.0% during the 2nd quarter. Wulff Hansen & CO. now owns 668,310 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $19,281,000 after acquiring an additional 645,145 shares in the last quarter. 72.29% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WLDN has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Wedbush began coverage on Willdan Group in a research report on Tuesday, September 3rd. They set an “outperform” rating and a $51.00 target price on the stock. Roth Mkm raised their price target on shares of Willdan Group from $34.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Willdan Group from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday.

Willdan Group Stock Down 1.0 %

WLDN opened at $41.64 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $575.34 million, a PE ratio of 44.77 and a beta of 1.40. 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, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $17.09 and a fifty-two week high of $42.70. The business has a 50-day moving average of $37.63 and a 200-day moving average of $32.69.

Willdan Group (NASDAQ:WLDN) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The construction company reported $0.44 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.29 by $0.15. The company had revenue of $141.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $123.07 million. Willdan Group had a return on equity of 12.06% and a net margin of 3.10%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.19 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Willdan Group, Inc. will post 1.72 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Willdan Group

In related news, CEO Michael A. Bieber sold 10,346 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $36.61, for a total transaction of $378,767.06. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 169,726 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,213,668.86. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other Willdan Group news, CEO Michael A. Bieber sold 10,346 shares of Willdan Group stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $36.61, for a total transaction of $378,767.06. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 169,726 shares in the company, valued at $6,213,668.86. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Michael A. Bieber sold 750 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, August 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $36.46, for a total transaction of $27,345.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now 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 three months, insiders have sold 218,535 shares of company stock worth $6,739,175. 9.80% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Willdan Group Company 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.