Willdan Group (NASDAQ:WLDN) Shares Gap Up – What’s Next?

Willdan Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:WLDN) gapped up before the market opened on Friday . The stock had previously closed at $32.22, but opened at $36.00. Willdan Group shares last traded at $38.31, with a volume of 29,002 shares changing hands.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, StockNews.com cut Willdan Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday.

Willdan Group Stock Up 20.8 %

The firm has a market cap of $549.76 million, a PE ratio of 23.95 and a beta of 1.37. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $35.57 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $39.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37, a quick ratio of 1.77 and a current ratio of 1.77.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CFO Creighton K. Early sold 4,349 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.13, for a total value of $187,572.37. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 69,146 shares in the company, valued at $2,982,266.98. The trade was a 5.92 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 9.80% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Willdan Group

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in WLDN. Mackenzie Financial Corp purchased a new stake in shares of Willdan Group in the fourth quarter worth $268,000. Squarepoint Ops LLC boosted its stake in Willdan Group by 126.8% during the fourth quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 11,280 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $430,000 after buying an additional 6,306 shares during the last quarter. Sherbrooke Park Advisers LLC purchased a new position in Willdan Group during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $375,000. Man Group plc grew its holdings in Willdan Group by 180.2% during the 4th quarter. Man Group plc now owns 31,924 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $1,216,000 after buying an additional 20,530 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nuveen Asset Management LLC increased its stake in Willdan Group by 136.0% in the 4th quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC now owns 208,059 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $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.

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.