Bradley James Sells 2,000 Shares of Exponent (NASDAQ:EXPO) Stock

Exponent, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXPO) VP Bradley James sold 2,000 shares of Exponent stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $57.47, for a total transaction of $114,940.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president directly owned 1,105 shares in the company, valued at $63,504.35. This trade represents a 64.41% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link.

Exponent Price Performance

NASDAQ:EXPO traded down $0.60 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $56.93. The stock had a trading volume of 146,061 shares, compared to its average volume of 478,497. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $63.86 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $69.16. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.76 billion, a PE ratio of 26.46 and a beta of 0.78. Exponent, Inc. has a 12 month low of $51.91 and a 12 month 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, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.56 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $166.30 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $149.53 million. Exponent had a net margin of 18.07% and a return on equity of 27.94%. The company’s revenue was up 14.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.52 earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that Exponent, Inc. will post 2.28 EPS for the current year.

Exponent Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 18th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 5th will be paid a dividend of $0.31 per share. This represents a $1.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 5th. Exponent’s payout ratio is presently 57.67%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have weighed in on the stock. 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 research note on Friday, May 1st. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Exponent in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on shares of Exponent from $95.00 to $80.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 15th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $77.50.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Exponent

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of EXPO. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Exponent during the fourth quarter worth $51,166,000. Two Sigma Investments LP acquired a new position in shares of Exponent during the third quarter worth $29,780,000. First Trust Advisors LP lifted its holdings in shares of Exponent by 135.8% during the third quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 580,134 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $40,308,000 after purchasing an additional 334,154 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Exponent by 115.1% in the fourth quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 547,737 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $38,046,000 after buying an additional 293,075 shares during the period. Finally, Royce & Associates LP lifted its holdings in Exponent by 73.8% in the fourth quarter. Royce & Associates LP now owns 652,109 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $45,295,000 after buying an additional 276,889 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.37% of the company’s stock.

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.