Key Points
- Insider sale: Exponent VP John Pye sold 4,000 shares on Feb. 10 at an average price of $75.97 for $303,880, reducing his holding to 25,204 shares (a 13.7% decrease).
- Earnings beat and capital returns: Exponent beat estimates with Q earnings of $0.49 vs. $0.47 and revenue of $147.43M vs. $128.48M, while raising the quarterly dividend to $0.31 and authorizing a $100M share buyback.
- Stock reaction and outlook: Shares opened at $67.13 and were down about 6.4%; the company has a $3.35B market cap and a MarketBeat consensus of "Moderate Buy" with an average target near $92.50.
Exponent, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXPO - Get Free Report) VP John Pye sold 4,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $75.97, for a total value of $303,880.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president owned 25,204 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,914,747.88. This represents a 13.70% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link.
Exponent Trading Down 6.4%
Shares of EXPO stock opened at $67.13 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.35 billion, a PE ratio of 32.27 and a beta of 0.79. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $72.98 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $71.01. Exponent, Inc. has a 12 month low of $63.81 and a 12 month high of $91.41.
Exponent (NASDAQ:EXPO - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 5th. The business services provider reported $0.49 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.47 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $147.43 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $128.48 million. Exponent had a net margin of 18.21% and a return on equity of 25.51%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 4.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.46 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that Exponent, Inc. will post 1.98 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.
Exponent Increases Dividend
The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 20th. Investors of record on Friday, March 6th will be given a $0.31 dividend. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 6th. This is a positive change from Exponent's previous quarterly dividend of $0.30. Exponent's payout ratio is 57.69%.
Exponent declared that its board has initiated a share repurchase plan on Thursday, October 30th that authorizes the company to buyback $100.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the business services provider to buy up to 3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are generally a sign that the company's board believes its shares are undervalued.
Hedge Funds Weigh In On Exponent
Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Conestoga Capital Advisors LLC raised its position in Exponent by 1.3% in the fourth quarter. Conestoga Capital Advisors LLC now owns 2,392,499 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $166,183,000 after acquiring an additional 31,303 shares during the period. Geneva Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Exponent by 7.6% during the 2nd quarter. Geneva Capital Management LLC now owns 1,877,765 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $140,288,000 after acquiring an additional 131,937 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Exponent by 1.3% during the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,597,542 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $119,360,000 after purchasing an additional 21,272 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its holdings in shares of Exponent by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 898,615 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $62,419,000 after purchasing an additional 2,654 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new position in Exponent in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $51,166,000. Institutional investors own 92.37% of the company's stock.
Analyst Ratings Changes
EXPO has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Weiss Ratings restated a "hold (c-)" rating on shares of Exponent in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. assumed coverage on Exponent in a research report on Monday, January 26th. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $100.00 price target for the company. UBS Group reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and set a $85.00 price objective on shares of Exponent in a report on Monday. Finally, William Blair upgraded shares of Exponent from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, November 17th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Exponent currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $92.50.
Check Out Our Latest Research Report on EXPO
Exponent Company Profile
(
Get Free Report)
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.
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