Willdan Group (NASDAQ:WLDN) Sees Large Volume Increase - Here's Why

Willdan Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:WLDN - Get Free Report) saw unusually-high trading volume on Tuesday . Approximately 526,293 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 253% from the previous session's volume of 149,045 shares.The stock last traded at $66.63 and had previously closed at $62.51.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WLDN has been the topic of a number of research reports. Wedbush upgraded Willdan Group to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Monday, March 10th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Willdan Group from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 19th.

Willdan Group Stock Up 10.9%

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a current ratio of 1.61 and a quick ratio of 1.61. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $51.64 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $42.40. The firm has a market cap of $1.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 44.13 and a beta of 1.25.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Michael A. Bieber sold 25,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $48.11, for a total value of $1,202,750.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 200,981 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $9,669,195.91. The trade was a 11.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, VP Micah Chen sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, May 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.50, for a total value of $505,000.00. Following the sale, the vice president directly owned 38,502 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,944,351. This represents a 20.62% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 100,000 shares of company stock valued at $4,994,075 in the last quarter. 8.60% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Willdan Group

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in WLDN. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Willdan Group by 3.0% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 774,212 shares of the construction company's stock worth $31,526,000 after buying an additional 22,227 shares in the last quarter. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC raised its position in shares of Willdan Group by 13.4% in the fourth quarter. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC now owns 432,135 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $16,460,000 after buying an additional 51,003 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its position in Willdan Group by 13.3% during the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 419,319 shares of the construction company's stock worth $15,972,000 after acquiring an additional 49,217 shares during the last quarter. Summit Creek Advisors LLC grew its stake in Willdan Group by 1.7% in the 4th quarter. Summit Creek Advisors LLC now owns 365,153 shares of the construction company's stock worth $13,909,000 after acquiring an additional 6,119 shares during the period. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Willdan Group by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 296,398 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $11,293,000 after purchasing an additional 1,601 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.