Willdan Group (WLDN) shares soared 8.7% in the last trading session to close at $72.72. The move was backed by solid volume with far more shares changing hands than in a normal session. This compares to the stock's 11.2% loss over the past four weeks.
The stock recorded this price increase as the company benefits from a hike in electricity demand, driven by AI and data centers. The performance was further bolstered by the company’s success in the commercial sector, led by data center power requirements.
This energy efficiency and sustainability consultant is expected to post quarterly earnings of $0.81 per share in its upcoming report, which represents a year-over-year change of +28.6%. Revenues are expected to be $89.55 million, up 4.9% from the year-ago quarter.
While earnings and revenue growth expectations are important in evaluating the potential strength in a stock, empirical research shows a strong correlation between trends in earnings estimate revisions and near-term stock price movements.
For Willdan, the consensus EPS estimate for the quarter has remained unchanged over the last 30 days. And a stock's price usually doesn't keep moving higher in the absence of any trend in earnings estimate revisions. So, make sure to keep an eye on WLDN going forward to see if this recent jump can turn into more strength down the road.
The stock currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of today's Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) stocks here >>>>
Willdan is a member of the Zacks Business - Services industry. One other stock in the same industry, ABM Industries (ABM), finished the last trading session 0.8% higher at $40.44. ABM has returned 5.9% over the past month.
For ABM Industries, the consensus EPS estimate for the upcoming report has changed +0.4% over the past month to $0.92. This represents a change of +7% from what the company reported a year ago. ABM Industries currently has a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold).
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Willdan Group, Inc. (WLDN): Free Stock Analysis Report
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This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).