Exponent (NASDAQ:EXPO) VP John Pye Sells 4,000 Shares of Stock

Exponent, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXPO) VP John Pye sold 4,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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. This represents a 13.70% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink.

Exponent Stock Performance

Exponent stock opened at $67.13 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $72.98 and a 200-day moving average of $71.01. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.27 and a beta of 0.79. Exponent, Inc. has a 52 week low of $63.81 and a 52 week high of $91.41.

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

Exponent Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 20th. Investors of record on Friday, March 6th will be given a dividend of $0.31 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 6th. This represents a $1.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.8%. This is an increase from Exponent’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.30. Exponent’s dividend payout ratio is presently 57.69%.

Exponent announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback plan on Thursday, October 30th that permits the company to buyback $100.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the business services provider to repurchase up to 3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are typically a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in EXPO. United Services Automobile Association bought a new position in shares of Exponent during the 1st quarter worth approximately $270,000. Jane Street Group LLC boosted its stake in Exponent by 1,481.0% during the first quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 127,222 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $10,313,000 after acquiring an additional 119,175 shares in the last quarter. Inspire Investing LLC grew its holdings in Exponent by 23.8% in the second quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 5,230 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $391,000 after purchasing an additional 1,004 shares during the period. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC increased its stake in Exponent by 22.5% in the second quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC now owns 15,207 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,136,000 after purchasing an additional 2,795 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CWM LLC raised its holdings in shares of Exponent by 6.0% during the second quarter. CWM LLC now owns 8,887 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $664,000 after purchasing an additional 504 shares during the period. 92.37% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. UBS Group reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $85.00 target price on shares of Exponent in a research report on Monday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. assumed coverage on shares of Exponent in a report on Monday, January 26th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $100.00 price target on the stock. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Exponent in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. Finally, William Blair raised Exponent from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, November 17th. 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.com, Exponent has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price 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.