Willdan Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:WLDN) Major Shareholder Fund L.P. Forager Sells 5,707 Shares

Willdan Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:WLDN) major shareholder Fund L.P. Forager sold 5,707 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $33.01, for a total transaction of $188,388.07. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 1,613,241 shares in the company, valued at $53,253,085.41. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Major shareholders that own at least 10% of a company’s stock are required to disclose their transactions with the SEC.

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

• On Monday, May 6th, Fund L.P. Forager sold 10,830 shares of Willdan Group stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $32.84, for a total transaction of $355,657.20.
• On Friday, May 3rd, Fund L.P. Forager sold 86,483 shares of Willdan Group stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $31.25, for a total transaction of $2,702,593.75.
• 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 transaction of $1,448,500.80.
• On Tuesday, March 26th, Fund L.P. Forager sold 10,456 shares of Willdan Group stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $29.83, for a total transaction of $311,902.48.

Willdan Group Price Performance

Shares of Willdan Group stock traded up $0.02 on Wednesday, hitting $33.10. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 55,650 shares, compared to its average volume of 56,305. The company has a market capitalization of $457.34 million, a P/E ratio of 35.59 and a beta of 1.47. The company has a quick ratio of 1.67, a current ratio of 1.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $26.98 and a 200-day moving average price of $22.39. Willdan Group, Inc. has a 52-week low of $15.42 and a 52-week high of $33.50.

Willdan Group (NASDAQ:WLDN) last released its earnings results on Thursday, March 7th. The construction company reported $0.72 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.35 by $0.37. The company had revenue of $155.68 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $160.00 million. Willdan Group had a net margin of 2.44% and a return on equity of 10.62%. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.25 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that Willdan Group, Inc. will post 1.5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in WLDN. New York State Common Retirement Fund lifted its holdings 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 in the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC purchased a new position in Willdan Group in the 3rd quarter valued at about $109,000. BNP Paribas Financial Markets lifted its holdings in Willdan Group by 82.5% in the 1st quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 6,080 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $176,000 after purchasing an additional 2,748 shares in the last quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of Willdan Group during the 3rd quarter valued at about $213,000. Finally, Bailard Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Willdan Group during the 4th quarter valued at about $258,000. 72.29% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WLDN has been the topic of several recent research reports. StockNews.com lowered shares of Willdan Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, March 16th. Wedbush reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $35.00 price objective on shares of Willdan Group in a research report on Monday. Finally, Roth Mkm reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $34.00 price objective (up from $27.00) on shares of Willdan Group in a research report on Friday, March 22nd.

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.