Willdan Group (NASDAQ:WLDN) Receives “Outperform” Rating from Wedbush

Willdan Group (NASDAQ:WLDN)‘s stock had its “outperform” rating reissued by equities research analysts at Wedbush in a research report issued on Monday, Benzinga reports. They presently have a $35.00 target price on the construction company’s stock. Wedbush’s price target would suggest a potential upside of 11.86% from the company’s previous close.

Several other equities analysts also recently commented on WLDN. Roth Mkm reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $34.00 target price (up previously from $27.00) on shares of Willdan Group in a report on Friday, March 22nd. StockNews.com cut shares of Willdan Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, March 16th.

Willdan Group Stock Performance

WLDN opened at $31.29 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 1.67, a quick ratio of 1.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45. The company has a market cap of $432.43 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.65 and a beta of 1.47. The company’s 50 day moving average is $26.50 and its 200 day moving average is $22.19. Willdan Group has a 12-month low of $14.10 and a 12-month high of $32.66.

Willdan Group (NASDAQ:WLDN) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 7th. The construction company reported $0.72 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.35 by $0.37. Willdan Group had a net margin of 2.44% and a return on equity of 10.80%. The business had revenue of $155.68 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $160.00 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.25 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts predict that Willdan Group will post 1.5 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, major shareholder Fund L.P. Forager sold 50,208 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $28.85, for a total value of $1,448,500.80. Following the sale, the insider now owns 1,748,416 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $50,441,801.60. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders sold 147,147 shares of company stock valued at $4,462,997 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 9.80% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. New York State Common Retirement Fund grew its holdings in shares of Willdan Group by 62.6% in the third quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 5,200 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $106,000 after purchasing an additional 2,001 shares during the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC bought a new position in Willdan Group during the 3rd quarter worth about $109,000. BNP Paribas Financial Markets grew its holdings in Willdan Group by 82.5% during 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. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. bought a new position in Willdan Group during the 3rd quarter worth about $213,000. Finally, Bailard Inc. bought a new position in Willdan Group during the 4th quarter worth about $258,000. 72.29% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.