Insider Selling: Willdan Group (NASDAQ:WLDN) Director Sells 2,763 Shares of Stock

Key Points

• Willdan Group, Inc. Director Cynthia Downes sold 2,763 shares at an average price of $109.43, totaling approximately $302,355, reducing her ownership by 23.67%.
• Despite the insider sale, analysts have recently upgraded Willdan Group's stock, with Roth Capital raising its price target to $103 and Wedbush upping it to $120.
• Institutional investors currently hold 72.29% of Willdan Group's shares, indicating strong institutional interest in the company.

Willdan Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:WLDN - Get Free Report) Director Cynthia Downes sold 2,763 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $109.43, for a total transaction of $302,355.09. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 8,909 shares in the company, valued at approximately $974,911.87. This represents a 23.67% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink.

Willdan Group Stock Performance

Willdan Group stock traded up $4.84 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $111.11. The company had a trading volume of 594,438 shares, compared to its average volume of 535,752. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $82.06 and a 200 day moving average of $55.77. Willdan Group, Inc. has a one year low of $30.43 and a one year high of $121.00. The firm has a market cap of $1.63 billion, a PE ratio of 46.49 and a beta of 1.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22, a current ratio of 1.43 and a quick ratio of 1.43.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

Institutional Trading of Willdan Group

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. lifted its stake in Willdan Group by 1.1% in the 2nd quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 7,615 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $476,000 after purchasing an additional 85 shares during the last quarter. Ameritas Investment Partners Inc. lifted its stake in Willdan Group by 15.6% in the 2nd quarter. Ameritas Investment Partners Inc. now owns 1,419 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $89,000 after purchasing an additional 191 shares during the last quarter. Engineers Gate Manager LP lifted its stake in Willdan Group by 3.3% in the 2nd quarter. Engineers Gate Manager LP now owns 6,925 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $433,000 after purchasing an additional 222 shares during the last quarter. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Willdan Group by 4.5% in the 2nd quarter. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC now owns 7,091 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $443,000 after purchasing an additional 307 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its stake in Willdan Group by 3.9% in the 1st quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 8,526 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $347,000 after purchasing an additional 319 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 72.29% of the company's stock.

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.