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

Exponent, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXPO)’s share price fell 8.2% during trading on Wednesday . The company traded as low as $52.73 and last traded at $52.4780. 288,115 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 38% from the average session volume of 467,642 shares. The stock had previously closed at $57.19.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on EXPO. UBS Group decreased their price target on 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 reiterated a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Exponent in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on Exponent from $100.00 to $95.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, March 26th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Exponent has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $85.00.

Exponent Trading Down 5.3%

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

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, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.56 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $166.30 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $149.53 million. Exponent had a return on equity of 27.94% and a net margin of 18.07%.Exponent’s quarterly revenue was up 14.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.52 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that Exponent, Inc. will post 2.28 EPS for the current year.

Exponent Dividend Announcement

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 issued a dividend of $0.31 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 5th. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.3%. Exponent’s payout ratio is presently 57.67%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Exponent news, CEO Catherine Corrigan sold 3,920 shares of Exponent stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $67.15, for a total transaction of $263,228.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 93,731 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,294,036.65. The trade was a 4.01% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 11,741 shares of company stock worth $791,888. 1.60% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Arizona State Retirement System lifted its holdings 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 buying an additional 162 shares during the period. Inspire Investing LLC lifted its holdings 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 buying an additional 172 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings 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 buying an additional 193 shares during the period. Bessemer Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Exponent by 37.1% in the 1st quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 717 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $47,000 after purchasing an additional 194 shares during the period. Finally, Hantz Financial Services Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Exponent by 97.0% in the 3rd quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 396 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 195 shares during the period. 92.37% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.