Willdan Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:WLDN) Short Interest Down 17.3% in December

Willdan Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:WLDN) was the target of a significant decline in short interest in December. As of December 15th, there was short interest totalling 396,100 shares, a decline of 17.3% from the November 30th total of 478,800 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 173,200 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.3 days.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on WLDN shares. StockNews.com lowered shares of Willdan Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. Wedbush restated an “outperform” rating and set a $51.00 target price on shares of Willdan Group in a report on Monday, November 4th.

Insider Activity at Willdan Group

In other news, Director Thomas Donald Brisbin sold 7,700 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $41.69, for a total value of $321,013.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 422,104 shares in the company, valued at $17,597,515.76. This represents a 1.79 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Michael A. Bieber sold 1,804 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $45.86, for a total value of $82,731.44. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 173,654 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,963,772.44. This represents a 1.03 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 21,787 shares of company stock worth $936,061 over the last ninety days. 9.80% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale acquired a new position in Willdan Group in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $707,000. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Willdan Group in the third quarter worth $15,608,000. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Willdan Group by 28.9% during the third quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 54,902 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $2,248,000 after buying an additional 12,304 shares in the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC acquired a new position in Willdan Group during the third quarter valued at $2,970,000. Finally, FMR LLC lifted its stake in Willdan Group by 343.6% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 3,935 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $161,000 after acquiring an additional 3,048 shares in the last quarter. 72.29% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Willdan Group Trading Down 0.1 %

NASDAQ:WLDN opened at $38.36 on Tuesday. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $42.66 and a 200 day simple moving average of $38.53. The firm has a market capitalization of $541.84 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.53 and a beta of 1.36. Willdan Group has a 1-year low of $17.23 and a 1-year high of $50.00. The company has a quick ratio of 1.77, a current ratio of 1.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37.

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.