Financial Review: Willdan Group (WLDN) vs. Its Rivals

Willdan Group (NASDAQ:WLDN) is one of 203 publicly-traded companies in the “Professional Services” industry, but how does it contrast to its rivals? We will compare Willdan Group to similar businesses based on the strength of its profitability, dividends, risk, analyst recommendations, earnings, valuation and institutional ownership.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Willdan Group and its rivals top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Net Income	Price/Earnings Ratio
Willdan Group	$681.55 million	$52.56 million	17.27
Willdan Group Competitors	$3.28 billion	$228.38 million	34.91

Willdan Group’s rivals have higher revenue and earnings than Willdan Group. Willdan Group is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than its rivals, indicating that it is currently more affordable than other companies in its industry.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

72.3% of Willdan Group shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 57.4% of shares of all “Professional Services” companies are held by institutional investors. 5.6% of Willdan Group shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 17.2% of shares of all “Professional Services” companies are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Volatility and Risk

Willdan Group has a beta of 1.28, meaning that its stock price is 28% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Willdan Group’s rivals have a beta of 0.96, meaning that their average stock price is 4% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of recent recommendations and price targets for Willdan Group and its rivals, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Willdan Group	0	1	2	1	3.00
Willdan Group Competitors	1580	6434	9164	430	2.48

Willdan Group presently has a consensus price target of $118.33, suggesting a potential upside of 60.80%. As a group, “Professional Services” companies have a potential upside of 26.92%. Given Willdan Group’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, research analysts plainly believe Willdan Group is more favorable than its rivals.

Profitability

This table compares Willdan Group and its rivals’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Willdan Group	8.80%	24.51%	13.92%
Willdan Group Competitors	-0.59%	20.60%	4.33%

Summary

Willdan Group beats its rivals on 8 of the 13 factors compared.

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. The Engineering and Consulting segment provides building and safety, city engineering and code enforcement, development plan review and inspection, disaster recovery, geotechnical and earthquake engineering, planning and surveying, contract staff support, program and construction management, structural engineering, transportation and traffic engineering, and water resources services. This segment also offers district administration, financial consulting, and federal compliance services. It serves public and governmental agencies, including cities, counties, redevelopment agencies, water districts, school districts, and universities; investor and municipal owned energy utilities; state and federal agencies; and commercial and industrial firms, as well as various other special districts and agencies. The company was founded in 1964 and is headquartered in Anaheim, California.