Insider Selling: Exponent (NASDAQ:EXPO) CEO Sells $120,600.76 in Stock

Exponent, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXPO) CEO Catherine Corrigan sold 1,663 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.52, for a total value of $120,600.76. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 92,723 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,724,271.96. This trade represents a 1.76% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link.

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

• 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.
• On Monday, November 17th, Catherine Corrigan sold 4,900 shares of Exponent stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.39, for a total transaction of $344,911.00.

Exponent Price Performance

Shares of EXPO opened at $75.51 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $72.40 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $71.05. The stock has a market cap of $3.77 billion, a PE ratio of 36.83 and a beta of 0.81. Exponent, Inc. has a 1-year low of $63.81 and a 1-year high of $97.57.

Exponent (NASDAQ:EXPO) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 30th. The business services provider reported $0.55 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.50 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $147.12 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $131.78 million. Exponent had a net margin of 18.35% and a return on equity of 24.77%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 9.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.50 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Exponent, Inc. will post 1.98 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Exponent declared that its board has initiated a stock buyback program 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 reacquire up to 3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are generally an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Exponent Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 19th. Investors of record on Friday, December 5th were issued a $0.30 dividend. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.6%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 5th. Exponent’s payout ratio is currently 58.54%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the company. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Exponent in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. UBS Group restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $81.00 price objective (up previously from $76.00) on shares of Exponent in a report on Monday, December 15th. Finally, William Blair raised shares of Exponent from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, November 17th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $81.00.

Institutional Trading of Exponent

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in EXPO. Hantz Financial Services Inc. lifted its stake in Exponent by 97.0% in the third quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 396 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 195 shares during the last quarter. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Exponent in the 3rd quarter valued at $33,000. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. purchased a new stake in shares of Exponent during the 2nd quarter worth $34,000. Winnow Wealth LLC acquired a new position in shares of Exponent during the third quarter worth $34,000. Finally, Pilgrim Partners Asia Pte Ltd purchased a new position in Exponent in the third quarter valued at $38,000. 92.37% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Exponent

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.