Insider Selling: Exponent (NASDAQ:EXPO) VP Sells 2,066 Shares of Stock

Exponent, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXPO) VP Joseph Sala sold 2,066 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $56.66, for a total transaction of $117,059.56. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link.

Exponent Stock Down 4.6%

NASDAQ:EXPO traded down $2.65 on Wednesday, hitting $54.54. The stock had a trading volume of 972,377 shares, compared to its average volume of 469,084. The stock has a market cap of $2.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.37 and a beta of 0.78. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $66.50 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $69.96. Exponent, Inc. has a 1-year low of $51.91 and a 1-year high of $81.95.

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

Exponent Announces Dividend

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Exponent

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in EXPO. Arizona State Retirement System grew its position in shares of Exponent by 1.1% during the third quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 14,984 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,041,000 after buying an additional 162 shares in the last quarter. Inspire Investing LLC lifted its stake in Exponent by 2.6% during the fourth quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 6,709 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $466,000 after purchasing an additional 172 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in Exponent by 50.4% during the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 576 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 193 shares during the last quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. lifted its stake in Exponent by 37.1% during the first quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 717 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $47,000 after purchasing an additional 194 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hantz Financial Services Inc. lifted its stake in Exponent by 97.0% during the third quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 396 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 195 shares during the last quarter. 92.37% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have weighed in on EXPO. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on shares of Exponent from $100.00 to $95.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, March 26th. UBS Group decreased their target price on shares of Exponent from $85.00 to $75.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 1st. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Exponent in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued 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 $85.00.

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.