Willdan Group (NASDAQ:WLDN) Upgraded by Wall Street Zen to Strong-Buy Rating

Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Willdan Group (NASDAQ:WLDN) from a buy rating to a strong-buy rating in a report released on Saturday.

A number of other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports on the company. Zacks Research cut Willdan Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 6th. Wedbush upped their price target on shares of Willdan Group from $120.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 14th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Willdan Group in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Compass Point set a $125.00 price objective on shares of Willdan Group in a research note on Friday, January 2nd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $124.33.

Willdan Group Trading Down 25.5%

Shares of NASDAQ:WLDN opened at $89.14 on Friday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $118.42 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $106.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17, a current ratio of 1.48 and a quick ratio of 1.48. Willdan Group has a one year low of $30.43 and a one year high of $137.00. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.31 billion, a PE ratio of 25.61 and a beta of 0.98.

Willdan Group (NASDAQ:WLDN) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 26th. The construction company reported $1.57 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.79 by $0.78. Willdan Group had a return on equity of 24.22% and a net margin of 7.71%.The company had revenue of $89.51 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $174.50 million. Willdan Group has set its FY 2026 guidance at 4.500-4.700 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Willdan Group will post 1.82 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Willdan Group

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of WLDN. Sunbelt Securities Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Willdan Group during the 4th quarter worth about $83,000. Invesco Ltd. raised its holdings in Willdan Group by 93.0% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 51,657 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $5,355,000 after acquiring an additional 24,889 shares during the period. Man Group plc lifted its position in Willdan Group by 108.6% during the fourth quarter. Man Group plc now owns 34,677 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $3,595,000 after acquiring an additional 18,052 shares during the last quarter. Boothbay Fund Management LLC lifted its position in Willdan Group by 36.6% during the fourth quarter. Boothbay Fund Management LLC now owns 15,766 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $1,634,000 after acquiring an additional 4,223 shares during the last quarter. Finally, PDT Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Willdan Group during the fourth quarter worth approximately $368,000. 72.29% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Willdan Group News Roundup

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

• Positive Sentiment: Strong Q4 profitability — Willdan reported adjusted Q4 EPS of $1.57, well above consensus, with net income and adjusted EBITDA up year-over-year, showing healthy margin improvement. Zacks: Q4 Earnings and Revenues Top Estimates
• Positive Sentiment: Operational outlook remains solid — management expects EBITDA margins to stay above 20% in 2026 and cited growing data-center work and resilient services demand, signaling durable underlying business strength. Seeking Alpha: Tax Headwind, Data Center Tailwind
• Neutral Sentiment: FY2026 EPS guidance vs. consensus — management set FY2026 EPS at $4.50–$4.70, which is higher than some analyst models but below FY2025 EPS of $4.89, creating mixed interpretations (beat vs. consensus but down vs. prior year). BusinessWire: Q4 Results & 2026 Outlook
• Neutral Sentiment: Revenue reporting nuances — Q4 contract revenue and net revenue metrics differ (contract revenue $173.7M vs. net revenue $89.5M), and some street estimates use different measures, which contributed to confusion over an apparent revenue “miss.” Willdan: Q4 Slide Deck / Press Release
• Negative Sentiment: Tax headwind and lower revenue guidance drove the selloff — management attributed a lower FY2026 EPS versus FY2025 to tax-rate normalization after the sunset of Section 179D incentives, and issued revenue guidance ($390–$405M) well below some street expectations, which prompted the sharp negative market reaction. Seeking Alpha: Tax Headwind, Data Center Tailwind

Willdan Group Company Profile

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.