Insider Selling: Willdan Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:WLDN) Major Shareholder Sells 86,483 Shares of Stock

Willdan Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:WLDN) major shareholder Fund L.P. Forager sold 86,483 shares of Willdan Group stock in a transaction on Friday, May 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $31.25, for a total value of $2,702,593.75. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 1,641,258 shares in the company, valued at approximately $51,289,312.50. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Large shareholders that own at least 10% of a company’s stock are required to disclose their sales and purchases with the SEC.

Fund L.P. Forager also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Wednesday, May 1st, Fund L.P. Forager sold 50,208 shares of Willdan Group stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $28.85, for a total transaction of $1,448,500.80.
• On Tuesday, March 26th, Fund L.P. Forager sold 10,456 shares of Willdan Group stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $29.83, for a total transaction of $311,902.48.

Willdan Group Price Performance

NASDAQ:WLDN traded up $2.81 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $31.29. 253,518 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 54,939. The company has a quick ratio of 1.67, a current ratio of 1.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45. The company has a market capitalization of $432.33 million, a P/E ratio of 36.05 and a beta of 1.47. Willdan Group, Inc. has a 12 month low of $14.10 and a 12 month high of $32.66. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $26.28 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $22.08.

Willdan Group (NASDAQ:WLDN) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, March 7th. The construction company reported $0.72 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.35 by $0.37. Willdan Group had a return on equity of 10.17% and a net margin of 2.14%. The business had revenue of $155.68 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $160.00 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.25 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Willdan Group, Inc. will post 1.5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of Willdan Group

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of WLDN. Conestoga Capital Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Willdan Group by 1.0% during the 1st quarter. Conestoga Capital Advisors LLC now owns 55,823 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $1,618,000 after buying an additional 540 shares during the period. Kennedy Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Willdan Group by 0.7% in the third quarter. Kennedy Capital Management LLC now owns 164,272 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $3,356,000 after purchasing an additional 1,199 shares in the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC increased its position in Willdan Group by 27.2% in the 4th quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 6,776 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $146,000 after purchasing an additional 1,448 shares during the last quarter. Summit Creek Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Willdan Group by 0.4% during the 3rd quarter. Summit Creek Advisors LLC now owns 382,803 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $7,821,000 after purchasing an additional 1,587 shares in the last quarter. Finally, New York State Common Retirement Fund lifted its holdings in shares of Willdan Group by 62.6% during the 3rd quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 5,200 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $106,000 after buying an additional 2,001 shares during the last quarter. 72.29% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently commented on WLDN. StockNews.com lowered shares of Willdan Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, March 16th. Roth Mkm reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $34.00 price objective (up previously from $27.00) on shares of Willdan Group in a research note on Friday, March 22nd. Finally, Wedbush raised their target price on Willdan Group from $30.00 to $35.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, March 25th.

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.