Exponent (NASDAQ:EXPO) Reaches New 52-Week High at $102.82

Exponent, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXPO)’s stock price hit a new 52-week high during trading on Monday . The company traded as high as $102.82 and last traded at $100.98, with a volume of 85187 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $99.18.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, Truist Financial raised their price objective on shares of Exponent from $95.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, April 29th.

Exponent Price Performance

The stock has a market cap of $5.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 53.51 and a beta of 0.65. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $95.48 and its 200 day moving average is $87.45.

Exponent (NASDAQ:EXPO) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The business services provider reported $0.59 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.46 by $0.13. Exponent had a net margin of 18.72% and a return on equity of 28.13%. The company had revenue of $137.21 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $125.98 million. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.56 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 6.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate that Exponent, Inc. will post 1.92 EPS for the current year.

Exponent Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 21st. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 7th were issued a $0.28 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 7th. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.07%. Exponent’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 56.57%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Exponent

In other Exponent news, insider Eric Guyer sold 1,650 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $92.58, for a total value of $152,757.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 1,846 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $170,902.68. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other news, Director Paul R. Johnston sold 7,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $95.50, for a total transaction of $668,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 80,742 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,710,861. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Eric Guyer sold 1,650 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $92.58, for a total transaction of $152,757.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 1,846 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $170,902.68. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 50,067 shares of company stock valued at $4,734,995. Corporate insiders own 2.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of EXPO. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in shares of Exponent by 67.7% during the 2nd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 379 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 153 shares in the last quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. grew its stake in Exponent by 866.0% in the 1st quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. now owns 512 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $42,000 after acquiring an additional 459 shares during the period. Janiczek Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in Exponent by 293.7% in the 1st quarter. Janiczek Wealth Management LLC now owns 626 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $52,000 after acquiring an additional 467 shares during the period. Principal Securities Inc. purchased a new stake in Exponent in the 4th quarter worth approximately $69,000. Finally, YHB Investment Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in Exponent in the 1st quarter worth approximately $75,000. 92.37% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Exponent

Exponent, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, operates as a science and engineering consulting company in the United States and internationally. The company operates in two segments, Engineering and Other Scientific, and Environmental and Health. The Engineering and Other Scientific segment provides services in the areas of biomechanics, biomedical engineering and sciences, buildings and structures, civil engineering, construction consulting, data sciences, electrical engineering and computer science, human factors, materials and corrosion engineering, mechanical engineering, polymer science and materials chemistry, thermal sciences, and vehicle engineering.