Willdan Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:WLDN) Short Interest Update

Willdan Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:WLDN - Get Free Report) was the recipient of a significant decrease in short interest in the month of December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totalling 320,400 shares, a decrease of 19.1% from the December 15th total of 396,100 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 163,100 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.0 days.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Michael A. Bieber sold 1,804 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $45.86, for a total transaction of $82,731.44. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 173,654 shares in the company, valued at $7,963,772.44. The trade was a 1.03 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Creighton K. Early sold 4,349 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 9th. The stock was 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 owns 69,146 shares in the company, valued at $2,982,266.98. This represents a 5.92 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 21,787 shares of company stock worth $936,061 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 9.80% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Rhumbline Advisers boosted its stake in shares of Willdan Group by 9.7% in the 2nd quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 20,494 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $591,000 after purchasing an additional 1,818 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. purchased a new stake in Willdan Group during the second quarter valued at about $361,000. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale bought a new position in shares of Willdan Group during the second quarter valued at about $707,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holdings in shares of Willdan Group by 14.6% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 324,145 shares of the construction company's stock worth $9,351,000 after buying an additional 41,367 shares during the period. Finally, Renaissance Technologies LLC lifted its stake in shares of Willdan Group by 339.9% in the 2nd quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 55,426 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $1,599,000 after acquiring an additional 42,826 shares during the last quarter. 72.29% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Wedbush reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $51.00 target price on shares of Willdan Group in a research note on Monday, November 4th. StockNews.com cut shares of Willdan Group from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th.

Willdan Group Price Performance

Shares of Willdan Group stock traded up $0.24 during trading on Thursday, hitting $37.99. 76,439 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 107,134. The firm's fifty day moving average is $40.61 and its 200-day moving average is $39.17. The stock has a market cap of $536.42 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.31 and a beta of 1.38. Willdan Group has a 52 week low of $17.50 and a 52 week high of $50.00. The company has a quick ratio of 1.77, a current ratio of 1.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37.

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.