Insider Selling: Willdan Group (NASDAQ:WLDN) CFO Sells 7,764 Shares of Stock

Key Points

• Creighton K. Early, CFO of Willdan Group, sold 7,764 shares at an average price of $116.54, totaling approximately $904,816.56, resulting in a 9.73% decrease in his holdings.
• Willdan Group's stock traded down to $113.01, with a recent market cap of $1.66 billion and a P/E ratio of 47.28.
• Analyst ratings for Willdan Group improved recently, with Wedbush raising the price target to $120.00 and Roth Capital increasing it to $103.00, reflecting growing investor confidence.

Willdan Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:WLDN - Get Free Report) CFO Creighton K. Early sold 7,764 shares of Willdan Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $116.54, for a total transaction of $904,816.56. Following the sale, 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 SEC, which is available at the SEC website.

Willdan Group Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:WLDN traded down $2.03 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $103.18. 377,853 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 520,854. The company has a market cap of $1.51 billion, a PE ratio of 43.17 and a beta of 1.31. 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 fifty day moving average price of $79.95 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $54.61. Willdan Group, Inc. has a 12-month low of $30.43 and a 12-month high of $121.00.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have weighed in on WLDN. Roth Capital reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $103.00 target price (up previously from $62.00) on shares of Willdan Group in a report on Tuesday, August 5th. Wedbush increased their price objective on shares of Willdan Group from $85.00 to $120.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, August 8th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $111.50.

Institutional Trading of Willdan Group

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in WLDN. Alliancebernstein L.P. acquired a new position in Willdan Group in the 4th quarter valued at about $2,389,000. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Willdan Group by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 296,398 shares of the construction company's stock worth $11,293,000 after buying an additional 1,601 shares in the last quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN raised its position in shares of Willdan Group by 2,934.0% in the fourth quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 175,334 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $6,678,000 after buying an additional 169,555 shares during the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Willdan Group by 32.4% in the fourth quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 17,877 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $681,000 after buying an additional 4,375 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc lifted its stake in shares of Willdan Group by 26.4% during the fourth quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 2,597 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $99,000 after buying an additional 542 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 72.29% 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.