Exponent (NASDAQ:EXPO) Trading Down 8.2% After Insider Selling

Shares of Exponent, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXPO) were down 8.2% during trading on Wednesday after an insider sold shares in the company. The company traded as low as $52.73 and last traded at $52.4780. Approximately 288,115 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 38% from the average daily volume of 467,642 shares. The stock had previously closed at $57.19.

Specifically, VP Joseph Rakow sold 2,945 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $54.66, for a total value of $160,973.70. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, VP Joseph Sala sold 2,066 shares of Exponent stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $56.66, for a total transaction of $117,059.56. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

EXPO has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. UBS Group reduced their price target on shares of Exponent from $85.00 to $75.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on shares of Exponent from $95.00 to $80.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Exponent in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Exponent currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $77.50.

Exponent Price Performance

The company has a market cap of $2.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.00 and a beta of 0.78. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $66.10 and its 200-day moving average price is $69.85.

Exponent (NASDAQ:EXPO) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The business services provider reported $0.59 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.56 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $166.30 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $149.53 million. Exponent had a net margin of 18.07% and a return on equity of 27.94%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 14.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.52 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Exponent, Inc. will post 2.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Exponent Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 18th. Investors of record on Friday, June 5th will be issued a $0.31 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 5th. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.3%. Exponent’s dividend payout ratio is presently 57.67%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Exponent

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of EXPO. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Exponent in the fourth quarter worth about $51,166,000. Two Sigma Investments LP acquired a new stake in Exponent in the third quarter worth about $29,780,000. First Trust Advisors LP lifted its holdings in Exponent by 135.8% in the 3rd quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 580,134 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $40,308,000 after acquiring an additional 334,154 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Exponent by 115.1% in the 4th quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 547,737 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $38,046,000 after acquiring an additional 293,075 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Royce & Associates LP lifted its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 276,889 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.