Willdan Group (NASDAQ:WLDN) Shares Cross Above 200-Day Moving Average of $21.71

Willdan Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:WLDN) passed above its 200-day moving average during trading on Wednesday . The stock has a 200-day moving average of $21.71 and traded as high as $28.17. Willdan Group shares last traded at $27.95, with a volume of 36,547 shares trading hands.

Analyst Ratings Changes

WLDN has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Roth Mkm restated a “buy” rating and issued a $34.00 price objective (up from $27.00) on shares of Willdan Group in a research note on Friday, March 22nd. Wedbush upped their price objective on Willdan Group from $30.00 to $35.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, March 25th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded Willdan Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, March 16th.

Willdan Group Stock Down 0.2 %

The firm has a market cap of $386.27 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.38 and a beta of 1.49. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $25.29 and a 200-day moving average price of $21.71. The company has a current ratio of 1.67, a quick ratio of 1.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45.

Willdan Group (NASDAQ:WLDN) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, March 7th. The construction company reported $0.72 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.35 by $0.37. The firm had revenue of $155.68 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $160.00 million. Willdan Group had a return on equity of 10.17% and a net margin of 2.14%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.25 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Willdan Group, Inc. will post 1.5 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other Willdan Group news, major shareholder Fund L.P. Forager sold 10,456 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $29.83, for a total transaction of $311,902.48. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 1,900,057 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $56,678,700.31. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 10.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Willdan Group

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in WLDN. New York State Common Retirement Fund grew its stake in shares of Willdan Group by 62.6% during the third quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 5,200 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $106,000 after acquiring an additional 2,001 shares in the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC bought a new position in Willdan Group in the third quarter worth about $109,000. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. acquired a new position in Willdan Group in the third quarter valued at approximately $213,000. Bailard Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Willdan Group in the 4th quarter worth approximately $258,000. Finally, Los Angeles Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Willdan Group during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $309,000. 72.29% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.