Exponent (NASDAQ:EXPO) CEO Sells $263,228.00 in Stock

Exponent, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXPO) CEO Catherine Corrigan sold 3,920 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $67.15, for a total transaction of $263,228.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 93,731 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,294,036.65. The trade was a 4.01% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website.

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

• On Thursday, January 15th, Catherine Corrigan sold 1,663 shares of Exponent stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $72.52, for a total value of $120,600.76.
• On Monday, December 15th, Catherine Corrigan sold 3,225 shares of Exponent stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.74, for a total value of $228,136.50.

Exponent Trading Up 0.1%

NASDAQ:EXPO opened at $70.16 on Friday. Exponent, Inc. has a 1-year low of $63.81 and a 1-year high of $87.88. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $72.54 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $70.97. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.73 and a beta of 0.79.

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

Exponent Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 6th will be paid a $0.31 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 6th. This is a boost from Exponent’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.30. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.8%. Exponent’s payout ratio is currently 57.69%.

Exponent announced that its board has authorized a stock buyback program on Thursday, October 30th that permits the company to repurchase $100.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the business services provider to repurchase up to 3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are typically an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on EXPO. William Blair raised shares of Exponent from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, November 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. initiated coverage on Exponent in a research note on Monday, January 26th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $100.00 target price for the company. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Exponent in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. Finally, UBS Group reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $85.00 price objective on shares of Exponent in a report on Monday, February 9th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $92.50.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Exponent

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Hantz Financial Services Inc. grew its stake in shares of Exponent by 97.0% in the third quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 396 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 195 shares in the last quarter. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. acquired a new stake in Exponent in the second quarter valued at $34,000. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd bought a new position in shares of Exponent in the 3rd quarter valued at about $33,000. Allworth Financial LP grew its position in shares of Exponent by 86.1% in the 4th quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 469 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 217 shares during the period. Finally, Winnow Wealth LLC acquired a new position in shares of Exponent during the 3rd quarter worth about $34,000. Institutional investors own 92.37% of the company’s stock.

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.