Willdan Group (NASDAQ:WLDN) Upgraded to Strong-Buy at Zacks Research

Zacks Research upgraded shares of Willdan Group (NASDAQ:WLDN) from a hold rating to a strong-buy rating in a research report released on Monday morning,Zacks.com reports.

WLDN has been the topic of a number of other reports. Wall Street Zen cut Willdan Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, May 16th. Wedbush began coverage on Willdan Group in a research report on Thursday, April 9th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $110.00 price target for the company. Finally, Weiss Ratings cut Willdan Group from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Friday, April 24th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have issued a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Willdan Group currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $112.67.

Willdan Group Price Performance

Shares of Willdan Group stock opened at $79.10 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 1.68, a quick ratio of 1.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $87.28 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $97.38. Willdan Group has a 52 week low of $62.16 and a 52 week high of $137.00. The stock has a market cap of $1.20 billion, a PE ratio of 21.32 and a beta of 1.11.

Willdan Group (NASDAQ:WLDN) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The construction company reported $0.91 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.81 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $92.43 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $92.17 million. Willdan Group had a net margin of 8.24% and a return on equity of 23.36%. Willdan Group has set its FY 2026 guidance at 4.900-5.050 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Willdan Group will post 4.12 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Michael A. Bieber sold 56,676 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $91.58, for a total transaction of $5,190,388.08. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 249,525 shares in the company, valued at approximately $22,851,499.50. This trade represents a 18.51% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 5.60% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Willdan Group

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Royal Bank of Canada increased its position in Willdan Group by 3.2% in the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 76,990 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $3,134,000 after purchasing an additional 2,386 shares during the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Willdan Group by 4.3% in the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 7,530 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $307,000 after buying an additional 312 shares in the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its holdings in Willdan Group by 35.1% in the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 214,421 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $8,731,000 after buying an additional 55,704 shares during the last quarter. Jane Street Group LLC increased its holdings in Willdan Group by 205.9% in the first quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 25,302 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $1,030,000 after buying an additional 17,031 shares during the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its position in Willdan Group by 10.9% during the second quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 87,234 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $5,453,000 after acquiring an additional 8,602 shares in the last quarter. 72.29% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Willdan Group

Willdan Group, Inc provides energy efficiency, infrastructure engineering, and technical consulting services to a diverse range of public and private sector clients. The company works with utilities, municipalities, state and federal agencies, and commercial enterprises to design, implement, and manage programs that promote sustainable energy use, grid modernization, and resilient infrastructure. Willdan’s offerings span program design and implementation, energy audits, measurement and verification, and project management for both new construction and retrofit initiatives.

Core services include energy advisory and engineering solutions, including feasibility studies, facility commissioning and retro-commissioning, $0 down financing for energy projects, and demand response program development.