Willdan Group (NASDAQ:WLDN) Cut to “Buy” at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen cut shares of Willdan Group (NASDAQ:WLDN) from a strong-buy rating to a buy rating in a report published on Saturday.

WLDN has been the topic of a number of other research reports. Zacks Research downgraded Willdan Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 7th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Willdan Group in a report on Thursday, October 30th. Roth Capital reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $103.00 price objective (up previously from $62.00) on shares of Willdan Group in a research note on Tuesday, August 5th. Finally, Wedbush reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $120.00 target price on shares of Willdan Group in a research note on Monday, October 6th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and three have assigned a Buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $111.50.

Willdan Group Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ WLDN opened at $94.82 on Friday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $95.88 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $82.04. The stock has a market cap of $1.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.67 and a beta of 1.26. The company has a current ratio of 1.43, a quick ratio of 1.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22. Willdan Group has a 12 month low of $30.43 and a 12 month high of $121.00.

Willdan Group (NASDAQ:WLDN) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, November 6th. The construction company reported $1.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.81 by $0.40. Willdan Group had a net margin of 5.60% and a return on equity of 18.60%. The firm had revenue of $94.97 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $164.00 million. Willdan Group has set its FY 2025 guidance at EPS. As a group, analysts predict that Willdan Group will post 1.82 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other Willdan Group news, VP Micah Chen sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $106.00, for a total transaction of $1,060,000.00. Following the transaction, the vice president directly owned 40,423 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,284,838. This trade represents a 19.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Thomas Donald Brisbin sold 125,000 shares of Willdan Group stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $104.42, for a total transaction of $13,052,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 188,291 shares in the company, valued at approximately $19,661,346.22. This trade represents a 39.90% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 272,480 shares of company stock worth $29,057,132 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 8.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of WLDN. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. increased its stake in Willdan Group by 1,915.4% during the 3rd quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. now owns 262 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 249 shares in the last quarter. AdvisorShares Investments LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Willdan Group during the second quarter worth approximately $30,000. Private Trust Co. NA acquired a new position in Willdan Group in the 3rd quarter valued at $48,000. NewEdge Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Willdan Group in the 3rd quarter valued at $48,000. Finally, USA Financial Formulas acquired a new stake in Willdan Group during the 2nd quarter worth $65,000. 72.29% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.