Willdan Group (NASDAQ:WLDN) Stock Price Up 13.1% - Here's What Happened

Key Points

• Stock surged 13.1% intraday to a high of $88 and last traded at $84.25 (from a prior close of $74.47) on about 240,659 shares, roughly 27% below average volume.
• Q1 results beat expectations (EPS $0.91 vs. $0.81 est.) and management raised FY‑2026 EPS guidance well above consensus, supporting a more bullish outlook, though mixed revenue guidance language prompted investor confusion and some near‑term profit‑taking.
• Analysts lean positive with a MarketBeat average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target of $112.67, while insider activity included Director Steven A. Cohen selling 6,000 shares.

Willdan Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:WLDN - Get Free Report)'s stock price rose 13.1% during mid-day trading on Friday . The company traded as high as $88.00 and last traded at $84.25. Approximately 240,659 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 27% from the average daily volume of 330,133 shares. The stock had previously closed at $74.47.

Trending Headlines about Willdan Group

Here are the key news stories impacting Willdan Group this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q1 earnings beat consensus — EPS $0.91 vs $0.81 est and net revenue ~$92.4M (in line/above estimates); net income and margins improved materially, showing operating leverage. Zacks: Q1 Earnings and Revenues Beat
• Positive Sentiment: Company raised FY‑2026 EPS guidance to $4.90–$5.05, well above consensus (~$4.42), which supports a more bullish earnings outlook and valuation re-rating cases. Seeking Alpha: Willdan Looks Mispriced After Raising Guidance
• Neutral Sentiment: Management commentary (conference call/transcript) provides color on backlog, normalization adjustments (one fewer week in the quarter) and growth drivers in energy/utility programs — useful for modeling but not immediately decisive. Earnings Call Transcript
• Neutral Sentiment: Company press release and slide deck detail normalized results (contract revenue and net revenue growth on a normalized basis), which helps reconcile year‑over‑year comparisons. BusinessWire: First Quarter Results
• Negative Sentiment: Revenue guidance language/figures released alongside EPS guidance created confusion (and appear materially different from some street estimates), which may pressure sentiment until analysts and management reconcile the outlook. BusinessWire: Results & Guidance
• Negative Sentiment: Even with strong results, the stock saw instances of near‑term profit‑taking / pullback reported by market outlets, signaling some investor caution on valuation and near‑term execution risk. Yahoo Finance: Shares Pulled Back Despite Strong Results

Analyst Ratings Changes

WLDN has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Wedbush initiated coverage on Willdan Group in a research note on Thursday, April 9th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $110.00 price objective on the stock. Weiss Ratings downgraded Willdan Group from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded Willdan Group from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, March 14th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $112.67.

Willdan Group Price Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $1.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.39 and a beta of 1.07. The business has a 50-day moving average of $80.66 and a 200 day moving average of $98.89. The company has a current ratio of 1.56, a quick ratio of 1.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15.

Willdan Group (NASDAQ:WLDN - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 26th. The construction company reported $1.57 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.79 by $0.78. The firm had revenue of $89.51 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $174.50 million. Willdan Group had a return on equity of 23.34% and a net margin of 7.71%.Willdan Group has set its FY 2026 guidance at 4.500-4.700 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Willdan Group, Inc. will post 3.88 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Steven A. Cohen sold 6,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $81.82, for a total value of $490,920.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 20,849 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,705,865.18. This represents a 22.35% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 5.60% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Willdan Group

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of WLDN. Independent Advisor Alliance purchased a new stake in shares of Willdan Group during the third quarter worth $2,658,000. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Willdan Group by 27.1% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,075,270 shares of the construction company's stock worth $103,968,000 after acquiring an additional 229,357 shares in the last quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of Willdan Group during the third quarter worth $3,882,000. David J Yvars Group purchased a new stake in shares of Willdan Group during the third quarter worth $862,000. Finally, Decker Retirement Planning Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Willdan Group during the third quarter worth $3,256,000. 72.29% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Willdan Group

Willdan Group, Inc provides energy efficiency, infrastructure engineering, and technical consulting services to a diverse range of public and private sector clients. The company works with utilities, municipalities, state and federal agencies, and commercial enterprises to design, implement, and manage programs that promote sustainable energy use, grid modernization, and resilient infrastructure. Willdan's offerings span program design and implementation, energy audits, measurement and verification, and project management for both new construction and retrofit initiatives.

Core services include energy advisory and engineering solutions, including feasibility studies, facility commissioning and retro-commissioning, $0 down financing for energy projects, and demand response program development.

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