Willdan Group (NASDAQ:WLDN) Trading Down 8.7% on Insider Selling

Willdan Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:WLDN)’s share price dropped 8.7% on Friday following insider selling activity. The company traded as low as $114.38 and last traded at $109.94. Approximately 70,659 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 66% from the average daily volume of 206,180 shares. The stock had previously closed at $120.35.

Specifically, CFO Creighton K. Early sold 7,764 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $116.54, for a total value of $904,816.56. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 72,071 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,399,154.34. This represents a 9.73% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Steven A. Cohen sold 2,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $116.34, for a total transaction of $290,850.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 26,849 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,123,612.66. This trade represents a 8.52% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently issued reports on WLDN. Wedbush upped their target price on shares of Willdan Group from $85.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, August 8th. Roth Capital reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $103.00 target price (up from $62.00) on shares of Willdan Group in a research report on Tuesday, August 5th.

Willdan Group Price Performance

The firm’s 50-day moving average is $76.99 and its 200-day moving average is $53.17. The company has a market capitalization of $1.66 billion, a PE ratio of 47.28 and a beta of 1.31. The company has a quick ratio of 1.61, a current ratio of 1.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Wasatch Advisors LP purchased a new stake in Willdan Group during the second quarter valued at about $20,188,000. Nuveen LLC purchased a new stake in Willdan Group during the first quarter valued at about $10,313,000. Wells Fargo & Company MN boosted its position in Willdan Group by 2,934.0% during the fourth quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 175,334 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $6,678,000 after buying an additional 169,555 shares during the period. Nuveen Asset Management LLC boosted its position in Willdan Group by 136.0% during the fourth quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC now owns 208,059 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $7,925,000 after buying an additional 119,888 shares during the period. Finally, Pacer Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in Willdan Group during the first quarter valued at about $4,687,000. 72.29% of the stock is currently 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.