Martingale Asset Management L P Makes New $719,000 Investment in Willdan Group, Inc. $WLDN

Key Points

• Martingale Asset Management L P made a new investment of approximately $719,000 in Willdan Group, Inc., acquiring 17,668 shares in the 1st quarter.
• Market analysts have recently upgraded Willdan Group, with Zacks Research raising its rating to "strong-buy" and Wedbush increasing the target price to $120.00.
• Insider activity includes Director Steven A. Cohen selling 2,500 shares, indicating a 8.52% decrease in his ownership in the company.

Martingale Asset Management L P purchased a new position in Willdan Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:WLDN - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 17,668 shares of the construction company's stock, valued at approximately $719,000. Martingale Asset Management L P owned 0.12% of Willdan Group at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Willdan Group by 3.0% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 774,212 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $31,526,000 after acquiring an additional 22,227 shares during the last quarter. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC boosted its position in shares of Willdan Group by 13.4% during the 4th quarter. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC now owns 432,135 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $16,460,000 after acquiring an additional 51,003 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its position in shares of Willdan Group by 13.3% during the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 419,319 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $15,972,000 after acquiring an additional 49,217 shares during the last quarter. Nuveen LLC bought a new position in shares of Willdan Group during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $10,313,000. Finally, Nuveen Asset Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Willdan Group by 136.0% during the 4th quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC now owns 208,059 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $7,925,000 after acquiring an additional 119,888 shares during the last quarter. 72.29% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Willdan Group Stock Up 4.6%

Shares of WLDN opened at $111.11 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $1.63 billion, a PE ratio of 46.49 and a beta of 1.31. The business has a fifty day moving average of $82.06 and a 200 day moving average of $55.91. Willdan Group, Inc. has a 52-week low of $30.43 and a 52-week high of $121.00. The company has a quick ratio of 1.43, a current ratio of 1.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Steven A. Cohen sold 2,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $116.34, for a total value of $290,850.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 26,849 shares in the company, valued at $3,123,612.66. This trade represents a 8.52% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Wanda Kay Reder sold 850 shares of the firm'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 sale, the director owned 10,676 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,275,354.96. This represents a 7.37% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 178,823 shares of company stock valued at $18,081,688 over the last 90 days. 8.60% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently commented on WLDN. Zacks Research upgraded Willdan Group from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Thursday. Wedbush increased their target price on Willdan Group from $85.00 to $120.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, August 8th. Finally, Roth Capital reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $103.00 target price (up from $62.00) on shares of Willdan Group in a research report on Tuesday, August 5th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and two have assigned a Buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $111.50.

Willdan Group 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.

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