Key Points
- CEO insider sale: Catherine Corrigan sold 3,920 shares on Feb. 17 at an average price of $67.15 (~$263,228), trimming her stake by 4.01% while still holding 93,731 shares (~$6.29M).
- Quarterly beat: Exponent reported $0.49 EPS vs. $0.47 expected and revenue of $147.4M vs. $128.5M, with 4.5% YoY revenue growth, a 25.5% ROE and an 18.2% net margin.
- Capital returns and buyback: The board boosted the quarterly dividend to $0.31 (annualized $1.24, 1.8% yield) and authorized a $100M share repurchase program (≈3% of shares), while institutional ownership is about 92%.
Exponent, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXPO - Get Free Report) CEO Catherine Corrigan sold 3,920 shares of Exponent stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $67.15, for a total value of $263,228.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 93,731 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $6,294,036.65. This trade represents a 4.01% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link.
Catherine Corrigan also recently made the following trade(s):
- On Thursday, January 15th, Catherine Corrigan sold 1,663 shares of Exponent stock. The shares were 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 shares were sold at an average price of $70.74, for a total transaction of $228,136.50.
Exponent Stock Up 2.2%
EXPO opened at $70.26 on Thursday. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $72.68 and its 200 day simple moving average is $70.98. Exponent, Inc. has a 52 week low of $63.81 and a 52 week high of $88.41. The stock has a market cap of $3.51 billion, a PE ratio of 33.78 and a beta of 0.79.
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, topping the consensus estimate of $0.47 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $147.43 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $128.48 million. Exponent had a return on equity of 25.51% and a net margin of 18.21%.The business's revenue was up 4.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.46 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Exponent, Inc. will post 1.98 earnings per share for the current year.
Exponent Increases Dividend
The firm 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. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.8%. This is a boost from Exponent's previous quarterly dividend of $0.30. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 6th. Exponent's payout ratio is 57.69%.
Exponent declared that its board has initiated a share 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 purchase up to 3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are often an indication that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.
Institutional Inflows and Outflows
Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Exponent during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $51,166,000. Two Sigma Investments LP bought a new stake in Exponent during the third quarter valued at about $29,780,000. First Trust Advisors LP grew its stake in Exponent by 135.8% in the third quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 580,134 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $40,308,000 after purchasing an additional 334,154 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Exponent by 115.1% in the 4th quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 547,737 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $38,046,000 after buying an additional 293,075 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Royce & Associates LP raised its stake in shares of Exponent by 73.8% during the 4th quarter. Royce & Associates LP now owns 652,109 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $45,295,000 after acquiring an additional 276,889 shares in the last quarter. 92.37% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.
Exponent News Summary
Here are the key news stories impacting Exponent this week:
- Positive Sentiment: Quarterly results beat estimates — Exponent posted higher-than-expected revenue and slightly beat EPS, showing steady year-over-year revenue growth and healthy margins and ROE, which supports investor confidence in the business and helps explain upward pressure on the stock.
- Neutral Sentiment: Analyst / valuation discussion — Recent coverage highlights mixed momentum and “conflicting valuation signals” for EXPO; this type of analysis can keep trading volatile as investors weigh growth vs. valuation. Evaluating Exponent (EXPO) After Mixed Momentum And Conflicting Valuation Signals
- Neutral Sentiment: Multiple news items cover “Exponent Energy” launching an EV-financing arm (Exponent One) and raising pre-seed funding — this is a separate private company and is unrelated to Exponent, Inc. Investors should not conflate the coverage with EXPO’s fundamentals. Exponent Energy launches Exponent One to fix commercial EV financing gap
- Negative Sentiment: Insider sale — CEO Catherine Corrigan disclosed a sale of 3,920 shares at about $67.15 on Feb. 17 (filed with the SEC). Insider selling can be interpreted negatively by some investors, though the CEO still holds a large stake and this single sale represents a modest reduction in ownership. SEC Filing - Insider Sale
Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades
Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on EXPO shares. Weiss Ratings reissued a "hold (c-)" rating on shares of Exponent in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. UBS Group reissued a "neutral" rating and set a $85.00 price target on shares of Exponent in a report on Monday, February 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. started coverage on Exponent in a research note on Monday, January 26th. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $100.00 price objective for the company. Finally, William Blair raised shares of Exponent from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, November 17th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Exponent has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $92.50.
Read Our Latest Analysis 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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