Lord Abbett & CO. LLC Buys New Position in Willdan Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:WLDN)

Lord Abbett & CO. LLC purchased a new position in shares of Willdan Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:WLDN - Free Report) during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 381,132 shares of the construction company's stock, valued at approximately $15,608,000. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC owned about 2.70% of Willdan Group as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Quantbot Technologies LP bought a new position in Willdan Group in the 3rd quarter valued at $26,000. nVerses Capital LLC grew its position in Willdan Group by 125.0% during the third quarter. nVerses Capital LLC now owns 900 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $37,000 after buying an additional 500 shares during the period. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. purchased a new stake in Willdan Group during the third quarter worth about $44,000. ProShare Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Willdan Group during the second quarter worth about $48,000. Finally, FMR LLC raised its position in Willdan Group by 343.6% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 3,935 shares of the construction company's stock worth $161,000 after acquiring an additional 3,048 shares during the period. 72.29% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on WLDN. Wedbush reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $51.00 target price on shares of Willdan Group in a research report on Monday, November 4th. StockNews.com lowered Willdan Group from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 9th.

Willdan Group Stock Performance

Willdan Group stock traded up $0.83 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $41.64. The stock had a trading volume of 119,771 shares, compared to its average volume of 104,932. The company has a quick ratio of 1.77, a current ratio of 1.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37. The firm has a market capitalization of $588.17 million, a PE ratio of 25.55 and a beta of 1.36. Willdan Group, Inc. has a 12 month low of $17.23 and a 12 month high of $50.00. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $43.84 and its 200 day moving average price is $38.02.

Insider Buying and Selling at Willdan Group

In other news, CFO Creighton K. Early sold 4,349 shares of the company's stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 69,146 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,982,266.98. This represents a 5.92 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Michael A. Bieber sold 1,804 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $45.86, for a total value of $82,731.44. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 173,654 shares in the company, valued at $7,963,772.44. This trade represents a 1.03 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 21,787 shares of company stock valued at $936,061 in the last 90 days. 9.80% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.