Fund L.P. Forager Sells 86,483 Shares of Willdan Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:WLDN) Stock

Willdan Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:WLDN) major shareholder Fund L.P. Forager sold 86,483 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $31.25, for a total value of $2,702,593.75. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 1,641,258 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $51,289,312.50. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Large shareholders that own at least 10% of a company’s shares are required to disclose their sales and purchases with the SEC.

Fund L.P. Forager also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Wednesday, May 1st, Fund L.P. Forager sold 50,208 shares of Willdan Group stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $28.85, for a total value of $1,448,500.80.
• On Tuesday, March 26th, Fund L.P. Forager sold 10,456 shares of Willdan Group stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $29.83, for a total transaction of $311,902.48.

Willdan Group Stock Performance

NASDAQ WLDN opened at $31.29 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 1.67 and a quick ratio of 1.67. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $26.50 and a 200-day moving average price of $22.17. Willdan Group, Inc. has a 1 year low of $14.10 and a 1 year high of $32.66. The firm has a market cap of $432.43 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.65 and a beta of 1.47.

Willdan Group (NASDAQ:WLDN) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 7th. The construction company reported $0.72 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.35 by $0.37. Willdan Group had a net margin of 2.44% and a return on equity of 10.80%. The business had revenue of $155.68 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $160.00 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.25 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Willdan Group, Inc. will post 1.5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of Willdan Group

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of WLDN. New York State Common Retirement Fund grew its stake in Willdan Group by 62.6% in the 3rd quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 5,200 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $106,000 after purchasing an additional 2,001 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC purchased a new position in shares of Willdan Group in the 3rd quarter worth about $109,000. BNP Paribas Financial Markets grew its position in Willdan Group by 82.5% during the first quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 6,080 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $176,000 after buying an additional 2,748 shares during the period. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. purchased a new stake in Willdan Group during the third quarter worth about $213,000. Finally, Bailard Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Willdan Group in the fourth quarter worth about $258,000. 72.29% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on WLDN. Wedbush lifted their price objective on shares of Willdan Group from $30.00 to $35.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, March 25th. StockNews.com downgraded Willdan Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, March 16th. Finally, Roth Mkm reissued 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.

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.