Willdan Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:WLDN) Short Interest Down 19.1% in January

Willdan Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:WLDN) was the recipient of a significant drop in short interest during the month of January. As of January 15th, there was short interest totalling 320,400 shares, a drop of 19.1% from the December 31st total of 396,100 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 163,100 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.0 days.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Creighton K. Early sold 4,349 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.13, for a total value of $187,572.37. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 69,146 shares in the company, valued at $2,982,266.98. This trade represents a 5.92 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Thomas Donald Brisbin sold 7,700 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $41.69, for a total transaction of $321,013.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 422,104 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $17,597,515.76. The trade was a 1.79 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 21,787 shares of company stock valued at $936,061 over the last quarter. 9.80% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC acquired a new position in shares of Willdan Group during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $15,608,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its stake in Willdan Group by 14.6% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 324,145 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $9,351,000 after acquiring an additional 41,367 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Willdan Group by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 294,797 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $12,075,000 after acquiring an additional 1,514 shares during the period. State Street Corp grew its stake in Willdan Group by 2.6% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 240,265 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $9,839,000 after acquiring an additional 6,178 shares during the period. Finally, Essex Investment Management Co. LLC grew its stake in Willdan Group by 0.3% in the 3rd quarter. Essex Investment Management Co. LLC now owns 155,761 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $6,378,000 after acquiring an additional 538 shares during the period. 72.29% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Willdan Group Trading Down 1.2 %

Shares of Willdan Group stock opened at $36.40 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37, a current ratio of 1.77 and a quick ratio of 1.77. Willdan Group has a 1 year low of $18.37 and a 1 year high of $50.00. The company has a market capitalization of $513.97 million, a P/E ratio of 22.33 and a beta of 1.38. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $39.54 and a 200 day moving average price of $39.69.

Willdan Group (NASDAQ:WLDN) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The construction company reported $0.61 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.46 by $0.15. Willdan Group had a return on equity of 13.84% and a net margin of 3.97%. The firm had revenue of $158.25 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $141.70 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.30 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Willdan Group will post 1.82 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on WLDN shares. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Willdan Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. Wedbush reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $51.00 price target on shares of Willdan Group in a research report on Monday, November 4th.

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.