Insider Selling: Exponent (NASDAQ:EXPO) VP Sells 4,000 Shares of Stock

Exponent, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXPO) VP John Pye sold 4,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.97, for a total value of $303,880.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president directly owned 25,204 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,914,747.88. The trade was a 13.70% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink.

Exponent Stock Performance

EXPO stock traded down $3.81 during trading on Thursday, hitting $67.91. The stock had a trading volume of 418,076 shares, compared to its average volume of 397,970. The stock has a market cap of $3.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.64 and a beta of 0.79. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $73.12 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $71.04. Exponent, Inc. has a 1-year low of $63.81 and a 1-year high of $91.41.

Exponent (NASDAQ:EXPO) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 5th. The business services provider reported $0.49 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.47 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $147.43 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $128.48 million. Exponent had a net margin of 18.21% and a return on equity of 25.51%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 4.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.46 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Exponent, Inc. will post 1.98 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Exponent Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 6th will be issued a dividend of $0.31 per share. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.8%. This is a positive change from Exponent’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.30. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 6th. Exponent’s payout ratio is 57.69%.

Exponent announced that its board has initiated a stock buyback program on Thursday, October 30th that authorizes the company to repurchase $100.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the business services provider to repurchase up to 3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are usually a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Institutional Trading of Exponent

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Exponent in the fourth quarter worth $51,166,000. Two Sigma Investments LP bought a new position in shares of Exponent during the third quarter worth about $29,780,000. First Trust Advisors LP increased its holdings in shares of Exponent by 135.8% in the 3rd quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 580,134 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $40,308,000 after acquiring an additional 334,154 shares during the period. Royce & Associates LP lifted its position in Exponent by 73.8% in the 4th quarter. Royce & Associates LP now owns 652,109 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $45,295,000 after purchasing an additional 276,889 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. boosted its stake in Exponent by 87,479.8% during the 4th quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 230,335 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $15,999,000 after purchasing an additional 230,072 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.37% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Exponent in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. William Blair raised shares of Exponent from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, November 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. started coverage on shares of Exponent in a research report on Monday, January 26th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $100.00 target price on the stock. Finally, UBS Group restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $85.00 target price on shares of Exponent in a research note on Monday. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $92.50.

Exponent Company Profile

Exponent, Inc (NASDAQ: EXPO) is an engineering and scientific consulting firm that offers multidisciplinary analysis and advisory services to clients across a range of industries. The company’s expertise spans mechanical, materials and corrosion engineering, civil and structural engineering, electrical engineering, industrial hygiene, toxicology and health sciences, and failure analysis. Exponent provides support for product design, performance evaluation, litigation consulting, and regulatory compliance, helping manufacturers, insurers, law firms and government agencies address complex technical challenges.

Founded in 1967 in Menlo Park, California, Exponent has grown from a small failure-analysis laboratory into a global consulting practice.