Exponent (NASDAQ:EXPO) CEO Sells $264,020.88 in Stock

Exponent, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXPO) CEO Catherine Corrigan sold 3,912 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $67.49, for a total transaction of $264,020.88. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 101,981 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,882,697.69. This trade represents a 3.69% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan.

Catherine Corrigan also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Wednesday, April 15th, Catherine Corrigan sold 3,909 shares of Exponent stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $67.70, for a total transaction of $264,639.30.
• On Tuesday, February 17th, Catherine Corrigan sold 3,920 shares of Exponent stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $67.15, for a total transaction of $263,228.00.

Exponent Stock Down 0.2%

Shares of EXPO stock traded down $0.17 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $68.12. 455,689 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 469,364. The company has a market cap of $3.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.75 and a beta of 0.80. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $68.92 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $70.32. Exponent, Inc. has a 1-year low of $63.25 and a 1-year high of $83.92.

Exponent (NASDAQ:EXPO) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 5th. The business services provider reported $0.49 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.47 by $0.02. Exponent had a return on equity of 25.51% and a net margin of 18.21%.The business had revenue of $147.43 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $128.48 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.46 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 4.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Exponent, Inc. will post 1.98 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Exponent Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 6th were given a $0.31 dividend. This is a boost from Exponent’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.30. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 6th. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.8%. Exponent’s dividend payout ratio is 59.62%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Exponent

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Hantz Financial Services Inc. boosted its holdings in Exponent by 97.0% during the 3rd quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 396 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 195 shares during the last quarter. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd bought a new position in shares of Exponent during the third quarter valued at about $33,000. Allworth Financial LP lifted its position in shares of Exponent by 86.1% during the fourth quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 469 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 217 shares in the last quarter. Winnow Wealth LLC purchased a new position in Exponent during the third quarter worth about $34,000. Finally, Pilgrim Partners Asia Pte Ltd purchased a new position in Exponent during the third quarter worth about $38,000. 92.37% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently commented on EXPO. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Exponent in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on Exponent from $100.00 to $95.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, March 26th. Finally, UBS Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $85.00 price objective on shares of Exponent in a research report on Monday, February 9th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $90.00.

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.