Federated Hermes Inc. Lowers Stock Position in Willdan Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:WLDN)

Federated Hermes Inc. decreased its position in Willdan Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:WLDN) by 10.9% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 6,909 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 841 shares during the period. Federated Hermes Inc.’s holdings in Willdan Group were worth $149,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Conestoga Capital Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Willdan Group by 4.2% in the 4th quarter. Conestoga Capital Advisors LLC now owns 55,283 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $1,189,000 after purchasing an additional 2,210 shares in the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC grew its holdings in Willdan Group by 27.2% in the fourth quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 6,776 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $146,000 after purchasing an additional 1,448 shares during the period. Kennedy Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Willdan Group by 0.7% in the third quarter. Kennedy Capital Management LLC now owns 164,272 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $3,356,000 after purchasing an additional 1,199 shares during the period. Quadrature Capital Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Willdan Group in the third quarter valued at approximately $327,000. Finally, Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of Willdan Group during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $213,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 72.29% of the company’s stock.

Willdan Group Stock Performance

NASDAQ WLDN opened at $31.29 on Monday. 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 stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $26.50 and its 200-day simple moving average is $22.19. The company has a market cap of $432.43 million, a PE ratio of 33.65 and a beta of 1.47. Willdan Group, Inc. has a 1-year low of $14.10 and a 1-year high of $32.66.

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

Insider Activity

In related news, major shareholder Fund L.P. Forager sold 10,456 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owns 1,900,057 shares in the company, valued at $56,678,700.31. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders sold 147,147 shares of company stock worth $4,462,997 over the last three months. Insiders own 9.80% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

Willdan Group 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.