Exponent (NASDAQ:EXPO) Shares Down 8.2% – Time to Sell?

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on EXPO shares. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Exponent in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. UBS Group decreased their price objective on Exponent from $85.00 to $75.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on Exponent from $100.00 to $95.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, March 26th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $85.00.

Exponent Stock Performance

The stock has a 50 day moving average of $66.89 and a two-hundred day moving average of $70.07. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.29 and a beta of 0.78.

Exponent (NASDAQ:EXPO) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 30th. The business services provider reported $0.59 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.56 by $0.03. Exponent had a return on equity of 27.94% and a net margin of 18.07%.The business had revenue of $166.30 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $149.53 million. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.52 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 14.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that Exponent, Inc. will post 2.28 EPS for the current year.

Exponent Dividend Announcement

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 paid a $0.31 dividend. This represents a $1.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 5th. Exponent’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 57.67%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Exponent

In other Exponent news, CEO Catherine Corrigan sold 3,920 shares of Exponent stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $67.15, for a total value of $263,228.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly 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 filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 11,741 shares of company stock valued at $791,888. 1.60% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Arizona State Retirement System increased its stake in Exponent by 1.1% during the 3rd quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 14,984 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,041,000 after acquiring an additional 162 shares during the period. Inspire Investing LLC increased its stake in Exponent by 2.6% during the 4th quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 6,709 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $466,000 after acquiring an additional 172 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in Exponent by 50.4% during the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 576 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $40,000 after acquiring an additional 193 shares during the period. Bessemer Group Inc. increased its stake in Exponent by 37.1% during the 1st quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 717 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $47,000 after acquiring an additional 194 shares during the period. Finally, Hantz Financial Services Inc. increased its stake in Exponent by 97.0% during the 3rd 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 period. 92.37% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.