Willdan Group (NASDAQ:WLDN) Reaches New 1-Year High – Should You Buy?

Willdan Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:WLDN) hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Monday . The company traded as high as $50.50 and last traded at $50.32, with a volume of 49368 shares. The stock had previously closed at $48.63.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Wedbush raised shares of Willdan Group to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, March 10th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Willdan Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 19th.

Willdan Group Stock Up 2.3%

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37, a current ratio of 1.77 and a quick ratio of 1.77. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $40.47 and its 200 day moving average is $39.24. The stock has a market cap of $721.23 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.59 and a beta of 1.09.

Insider Activity

In other Willdan Group news, Director Mohammad Shahidehpour sold 2,273 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $39.20, for a total transaction of $89,101.60. Following the transaction, the director now owns 12,767 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $500,466.40. This trade represents a 15.11% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders own 9.80% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its position in Willdan Group by 82.8% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 76,586 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $3,136,000 after acquiring an additional 34,699 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its position in Willdan Group by 9.0% during the fourth quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 8,207 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $313,000 after acquiring an additional 677 shares in the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC raised its position in shares of Willdan Group by 83.9% in the fourth quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 13,927 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $530,000 after purchasing an additional 6,353 shares during the period. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC raised its position in shares of Willdan Group by 23.2% in the fourth quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 89,354 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $3,397,000 after purchasing an additional 16,832 shares during the period. Finally, Stifel Financial Corp raised its position in shares of Willdan Group by 2.9% in the fourth quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 16,494 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $628,000 after purchasing an additional 461 shares during the period. 72.29% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.