Willdan Group (NASDAQ:WLDN) Rating Increased to Strong-Buy at StockNews.com

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

Separately, Wedbush reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $51.00 price objective on shares of Willdan Group in a report on Monday, November 4th.

Willdan Group Price Performance

Willdan Group stock opened at $32.21 on Friday. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $36.83 and a 200 day simple moving average of $39.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37, a current ratio of 1.77 and a quick ratio of 1.77. The company has a market capitalization of $454.81 million, a PE ratio of 19.76 and a beta of 1.37. Willdan Group has a one year low of $19.70 and a one year high of $50.00.

Insider Transactions at Willdan Group

In related news, CFO Creighton K. Early sold 4,349 shares of Willdan Group stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.13, for a total value of $187,572.37. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 69,146 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,982,266.98. The trade was a 5.92 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Thomas Donald Brisbin sold 7,700 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.45, for a total transaction of $334,565.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 406,704 shares in the company, valued at approximately $17,671,288.80. This represents a 1.86 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 12,283 shares of company stock valued at $532,316. Corporate insiders own 9.80% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Willdan Group

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of WLDN. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Willdan Group in the third quarter valued at approximately $15,608,000. Wells Fargo & Company MN boosted its position in Willdan Group by 2,934.0% in the 4th quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 175,334 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $6,678,000 after buying an additional 169,555 shares during the last quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Willdan Group by 136.0% in the 4th quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC now owns 208,059 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $7,925,000 after buying an additional 119,888 shares during the period. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC bought a new stake in shares of Willdan Group during the third quarter worth $2,970,000. Finally, Alliancebernstein L.P. acquired a new position in shares of Willdan Group during the fourth quarter valued at $2,389,000. 72.29% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.