StockNews.com Downgrades Willdan Group (NASDAQ:WLDN) to Buy

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

WLDN has been the topic of several other research reports. Wedbush started coverage on Willdan Group in a report on Tuesday, September 3rd. They set an “outperform” rating and a $51.00 target price on the stock. Roth Mkm upped 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 Down 3.3 %

Shares of NASDAQ WLDN opened at $42.80 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.81, a current ratio of 1.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40. The company has a market cap of $591.37 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 46.02 and a beta of 1.41. Willdan Group has a 12-month low of $17.09 and a 12-month high of $45.25. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $38.76 and its 200 day simple moving average is $33.30.

Willdan Group (NASDAQ:WLDN) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The construction company reported $0.44 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.29 by $0.15. The business had revenue of $141.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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 prior year, the firm posted $0.19 earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect that Willdan Group will post 1.72 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Creighton K. Early sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $36.45, for a total transaction of $364,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 68,342 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,491,065.90. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other Willdan Group news, CFO Creighton K. Early sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $36.45, for a total value of $364,500.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 68,342 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,491,065.90. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 169,726 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,188,209.96. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 30,305 shares of company stock worth $1,105,451 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 9.80% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Quadrature Capital Ltd grew its holdings in shares of Willdan Group by 56.0% in the 4th quarter. Quadrature Capital Ltd now owns 25,072 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $541,000 after acquiring an additional 8,997 shares in the last quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Willdan Group by 16.2% in the first quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 16,703 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $484,000 after purchasing an additional 2,329 shares in the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets grew its stake in Willdan Group by 82.5% in the first quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 6,080 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $176,000 after purchasing an additional 2,748 shares in the last quarter. Wulff Hansen & CO. increased its position in shares of Willdan Group by 19.3% during the 1st quarter. Wulff Hansen & CO. now owns 23,165 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $672,000 after purchasing an additional 3,750 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Essex Investment Management Co. LLC raised its stake in shares of Willdan Group by 1.6% during the 1st quarter. Essex Investment Management Co. LLC now owns 135,336 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $3,923,000 after purchasing an additional 2,100 shares in 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.