Acadian Asset Management LLC Sells 6,858 Shares of Willdan Group, Inc. $WLDN

Key Points

• Acadian Asset Management LLC reduced its stake in Willdan Group, Inc. by 1.6%, selling 6,858 shares during the first quarter, and now owns approximately 2.91% of the company worth $17.2 million.
• Recent analyst ratings have been positive, with Zacks Research upgrading the stock to a "strong-buy" and Roth Capital increasing its target price to $103.00, reflecting optimistic outlooks for the company's future performance.
• Insider trading activity revealed that CFO Creighton K. Early sold 7,764 shares at an average price of $116.54, indicating a 9.73% decrease in his ownership, while insiders overall sold 399,141 shares valued at $43 million in the last quarter.

Acadian Asset Management LLC cut its position in shares of Willdan Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:WLDN - Free Report) by 1.6% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 422,318 shares of the construction company's stock after selling 6,858 shares during the period. Acadian Asset Management LLC owned 2.91% of Willdan Group worth $17,193,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its stake in shares of Willdan Group by 6.4% in the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 10,359 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $395,000 after acquiring an additional 626 shares in the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Willdan Group by 47.0% during the 4th quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 91,269 shares of the construction company's stock worth $3,476,000 after purchasing an additional 29,169 shares in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE grew its holdings in shares of Willdan Group by 116.8% during the 4th quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 21,843 shares of the construction company's stock worth $832,000 after purchasing an additional 11,770 shares in the last quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. acquired a new stake in shares of Willdan Group during the 4th quarter worth approximately $607,000. Finally, Deutsche Bank AG grew its holdings in shares of Willdan Group by 358.0% during the 4th quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 34,935 shares of the construction company's stock worth $1,331,000 after purchasing an additional 27,308 shares in the last quarter. 72.29% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Willdan Group Price Performance

WLDN stock traded down $4.90 during trading on Friday, hitting $100.99. The company had a trading volume of 373,857 shares, compared to its average volume of 459,068. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $95.27 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $63.55. The company has a current ratio of 1.43, a quick ratio of 1.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22. The company has a market cap of $1.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 42.26 and a beta of 1.30. Willdan Group, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $30.43 and a fifty-two week high of $121.00.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Wedbush lifted their price objective on Willdan Group from $85.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, August 8th. Roth Capital reissued a "buy" rating and set a $103.00 price objective (up previously from $62.00) on shares of Willdan Group in a report on Tuesday, August 5th. Finally, Zacks Research raised Willdan Group from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Thursday, August 21st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and two have issued a Buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $111.50.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Willdan Group news, CFO Creighton K. Early sold 7,764 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $116.54, for a total value of $904,816.56. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 72,071 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $8,399,154.34. The trade was a 9.73% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Wanda Kay Reder sold 850 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $119.46, for a total value of $101,541.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 10,676 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,275,354.96. This represents a 7.37% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 399,141 shares of company stock valued at $43,089,466. Insiders own 8.60% of the company's stock.

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.