Rice Hall James & Associates LLC Has $4.53 Million Holdings in Willdan Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:WLDN)

Rice Hall James & Associates LLC lessened its stake in Willdan Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:WLDN - Free Report) by 51.5% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 118,992 shares of the construction company's stock after selling 126,551 shares during the quarter. Rice Hall James & Associates LLC owned approximately 0.84% of Willdan Group worth $4,532,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. nVerses Capital LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Willdan Group by 125.0% in the 3rd 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 last quarter. Inspire Investing LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Willdan Group by 2.4% in the 4th quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 21,390 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $815,000 after buying an additional 501 shares during the last quarter. Rhumbline Advisers boosted its holdings in shares of Willdan Group by 2.9% in the 4th quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 20,159 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $768,000 after buying an additional 562 shares during the last quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP acquired a new stake in Willdan Group during the 3rd quarter valued at $26,000. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Willdan Group by 9.0% during the 4th quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 8,207 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $313,000 after purchasing an additional 677 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 72.29% of the company's stock.

Willdan Group Stock Performance

Willdan Group stock traded down $0.49 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $32.21. 126,724 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 112,992. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37, a current ratio of 1.77 and a quick ratio of 1.77. The stock has a market cap of $454.81 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.76 and a beta of 1.37. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $36.83 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $39.76. Willdan Group, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $19.70 and a fifty-two week high of $50.00.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Willdan Group news, CFO Creighton K. Early sold 4,349 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, December 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.13, for a total transaction of $187,572.37. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 69,146 shares in the company, valued at $2,982,266.98. This trade represents a 5.92 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Thomas Donald Brisbin sold 7,700 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, November 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.45, for a total value of $334,565.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 406,704 shares in the company, valued at $17,671,288.80. The trade was a 1.86 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 12,283 shares of company stock worth $532,316 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 9.80% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. Wedbush reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $51.00 price target on shares of Willdan Group in a report on Monday, November 4th. StockNews.com raised Willdan Group from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Friday.

Willdan Group 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.