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

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently issued reports on WLDN. Wedbush upgraded shares of Willdan Group to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, March 10th. StockNews.com cut Willdan Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 19th.

Willdan Group Stock Up 2.3%

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Willdan Group news, Director Mohammad Shahidehpour sold 2,273 shares of Willdan Group stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $39.20, for a total value of $89,101.60. Following the transaction, the director now owns 12,767 shares in the company, valued at $500,466.40. The trade was a 15.11% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 9.80% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Willdan Group

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Nuveen LLC acquired a new position in Willdan Group in the first quarter valued at approximately $10,313,000. Wells Fargo & Company MN raised its position in shares of Willdan Group by 2,934.0% during the fourth quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 175,334 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $6,678,000 after purchasing an additional 169,555 shares during the period. Nuveen Asset Management LLC raised its position in shares of Willdan Group by 136.0% during the fourth quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC now owns 208,059 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $7,925,000 after purchasing an additional 119,888 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Willdan Group during the first quarter worth approximately $4,687,000. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC grew its stake in Willdan Group by 77.3% in the 1st quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 158,401 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $6,468,000 after purchasing an additional 69,047 shares during the period. 72.29% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.