Willdan Group, Inc. $WLDN Shares Acquired by First Trust Advisors LP

First Trust Advisors LP lifted its position in shares of Willdan Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:WLDN) by 20.7% in the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 286,858 shares of the construction company’s stock after purchasing an additional 49,161 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP’s holdings in Willdan Group were worth $21,962,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Willdan Group by 1.1% during the second quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 7,615 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $476,000 after purchasing an additional 85 shares in the last quarter. Truvestments Capital LLC raised its stake in Willdan Group by 3.0% in the fourth quarter. Truvestments Capital LLC now owns 3,708 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $384,000 after buying an additional 108 shares in the last quarter. CWM LLC raised its stake in Willdan Group by 5.4% in the fourth quarter. CWM LLC now owns 2,303 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $239,000 after buying an additional 118 shares in the last quarter. Mariner LLC lifted its holdings in Willdan Group by 2.0% during the 4th quarter. Mariner LLC now owns 6,062 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $629,000 after buying an additional 118 shares during the last quarter. Finally, ProShare Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Willdan Group by 8.1% during the 4th quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 2,570 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $266,000 after buying an additional 193 shares during the last quarter. 72.29% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Willdan Group Price Performance

Shares of WLDN opened at $67.71 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a current ratio of 1.68 and a quick ratio of 1.68. Willdan Group, Inc. has a 1-year low of $64.67 and a 1-year high of $137.00. The stock has a market cap of $1.02 billion, a PE ratio of 18.25 and a beta of 1.13. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $83.79 and a 200 day moving average price of $92.19.

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

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Michael A. Bieber sold 56,676 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $91.58, for a total value of $5,190,388.08. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 249,525 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $22,851,499.50. This represents a 18.51% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 5.60% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Zacks Research raised Willdan Group from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, June 29th. Wedbush began coverage on Willdan Group in a research report on Thursday, April 9th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $110.00 target price on the stock. Wall Street Zen cut Willdan Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 16th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Willdan Group in a report on Tuesday, July 21st. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have assigned a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $112.67.

Willdan Group Company Profile

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.