Willdan Group (NASDAQ:WLDN) Shares Gap Up – What’s Next?

Willdan Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:WLDN) shares gapped up before the market opened on Friday . The stock had previously closed at $47.31, but opened at $49.81. Willdan Group shares last traded at $46.43, with a volume of 46,357 shares changing hands.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have weighed in on WLDN shares. Roth Mkm boosted their price target on Willdan Group from $34.00 to $47.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. StockNews.com cut shares of Willdan Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Finally, Wedbush initiated coverage on shares of Willdan Group in a research note on Tuesday, September 3rd. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $51.00 price objective on the stock.

Willdan Group Stock Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $611.08 million, a PE ratio of 26.80 and a beta of 1.39. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $41.61 and a two-hundred day moving average of $35.19. The company has a quick ratio of 1.81, a current ratio of 1.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40.

Willdan Group (NASDAQ:WLDN) last posted its 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. Willdan Group had a net margin of 3.97% and a return on equity of 14.14%. The firm had revenue of $141.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $123.07 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.19 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Willdan Group, Inc. will post 1.72 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Willdan Group

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. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Willdan Group news, CEO Michael A. Bieber sold 750 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $36.46, for a total value of $27,345.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 169,726 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,188,209.96. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Creighton K. Early sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $36.45, for a total transaction of $364,500.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 68,342 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,491,065.90. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 30,305 shares of company stock valued at $1,105,451 in the last ninety days. 9.80% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Willdan Group

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in WLDN. Quadrature Capital Ltd boosted its holdings in Willdan Group by 85.6% in the 1st 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 purchased a new stake in Willdan Group in the first quarter valued at $12,628,000. Tidal Investments LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Willdan Group during the 1st quarter worth about $1,239,000. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale purchased a new stake in Willdan Group in the 2nd quarter valued at about $707,000. Finally, Wulff Hansen & CO. lifted 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. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.