Willdan Group (NASDAQ:WLDN) Sees Large Volume Increase – Should You Buy?

Shares of Willdan Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:WLDN) saw strong trading volume on Tuesday . 316,426 shares traded hands during trading, an increase of 124% from the previous session’s volume of 141,075 shares.The stock last traded at $112.4450 and had previously closed at $109.74.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have commented on the stock. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Willdan Group from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, November 13th. Compass Point set a $125.00 price objective on shares of Willdan Group in a report on Friday. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Willdan Group in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Wedbush reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $120.00 price target on shares of Willdan Group in a research note on Monday, October 6th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded Willdan Group from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Saturday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and three have issued a Buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Willdan Group currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $116.00.

Willdan Group Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17, a quick ratio of 1.48 and a current ratio of 1.48. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $100.65 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $95.07. The company has a market cap of $1.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.84 and a beta of 0.96.

Willdan Group (NASDAQ:WLDN) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 6th. The construction company reported $1.21 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.81 by $0.40. The firm had revenue of $94.97 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $164.00 million. Willdan Group had a return on equity of 20.23% and a net margin of 6.37%. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Willdan Group, Inc. will post 1.82 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of Willdan Group

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Royal Bank of Canada grew its position in shares of Willdan Group by 3.2% in the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 76,990 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $3,134,000 after acquiring an additional 2,386 shares during the period. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. lifted its stake in Willdan Group by 4.3% in the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 7,530 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $307,000 after purchasing an additional 312 shares during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its holdings in Willdan Group by 35.1% during the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 214,421 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $8,731,000 after purchasing an additional 55,704 shares during the period. MBB Public Markets I LLC acquired a new position in Willdan Group during the first quarter worth approximately $203,000. Finally, McIlrath & Eck LLC bought a new stake in Willdan Group in the first quarter valued at approximately $75,000. 72.29% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Willdan Group

Willdan Group, Inc provides energy efficiency, infrastructure engineering, and technical consulting services to a diverse range of public and private sector clients. The company works with utilities, municipalities, state and federal agencies, and commercial enterprises to design, implement, and manage programs that promote sustainable energy use, grid modernization, and resilient infrastructure. Willdan’s offerings span program design and implementation, energy audits, measurement and verification, and project management for both new construction and retrofit initiatives.

Core services include energy advisory and engineering solutions, including feasibility studies, facility commissioning and retro-commissioning, $0 down financing for energy projects, and demand response program development.