Willdan Group (NASDAQ:WLDN) Stock Price Up 3.5% – Still a Buy?

Willdan Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:WLDN)’s stock price shot up 3.5% during trading on Wednesday. The company traded as high as $84.45 and last traded at $82.70. 138,706 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 57% from the average daily volume of 323,545 shares. The stock had previously closed at $79.89.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on WLDN shares. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Willdan Group in a research report on Tuesday, July 21st. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Willdan Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, August 15th. Wedbush reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $130.00 target price on shares of Willdan Group in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Zacks Research downgraded Willdan Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 28th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Willdan Group currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $127.50.

Willdan Group Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19, a quick ratio of 1.37 and a current ratio of 1.37. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.69 and a beta of 1.19. The business has a fifty day moving average of $80.45 and a two-hundred day moving average of $82.16.

Willdan Group (NASDAQ:WLDN) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The construction company reported $2.07 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.30 by $0.77. Willdan Group had a return on equity of 24.51% and a net margin of 8.80%.The business had revenue of $231.03 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $102.27 million. Willdan Group has set its FY 2026 guidance at 5.000-5.150 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that Willdan Group, Inc. will post 4.1 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Thomas Brisbin sold 4,905 shares of Willdan Group stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $79.36, for a total transaction of $389,260.80. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 96,687 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,673,080.32. The trade was a 4.83% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 67,101 shares of company stock worth $5,871,388. Company insiders own 5.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of WLDN. BlackRock Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Willdan Group during the second quarter worth approximately $113,795,000. Neumeier Poma Investment Counsel LLC acquired a new stake in Willdan Group during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $41,939,611. Wasatch Advisors LP boosted its stake in Willdan Group by 45.9% in the 1st quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP now owns 381,581 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $29,214,000 after purchasing an additional 120,110 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its stake in Willdan Group by 7.5% in the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 308,947 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $23,652,000 after purchasing an additional 21,669 shares during the period. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP grew its holdings in Willdan Group by 20.7% in the 1st quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 286,858 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $21,962,000 after buying an additional 49,161 shares in the last quarter. 72.29% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Willdan Group

Willdan Group, Inc (NASDAQ: WLDN) is a professional, technical and consulting services company that helps utilities, government agencies and commercial organizations plan, develop and implement infrastructure and energy-related projects. Founded in 1964, the company serves clients primarily throughout the United States.

Willdan’s energy services include the design and administration of energy-efficiency and demand-response programs, electrification initiatives, distributed energy-resource projects, renewable-energy programs and grid-modernization efforts.