Exponent, Inc. (EXPO) to Issue Quarterly Dividend of $0.31 on September 18th

Exponent, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXPO) declared a quarterly dividend on Wednesday, July 29th. Investors of record on Friday, September 4th will be paid a dividend of 0.31 per share by the business services provider on Friday, September 18th. This represents a c) annualized dividend and a yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 4th.

Exponent has raised its dividend payment by an average of 0.1%annually over the last three years and has increased its dividend annually for the last 12 consecutive years. Exponent has a dividend payout ratio of 57.9% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities research analysts expect Exponent to earn $2.67 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $1.24 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 46.4%.

Exponent Trading Down 1.0%

NASDAQ:EXPO opened at $70.30 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $3.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.52 and a beta of 0.68. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $64.89 and its 200-day simple moving average is $64.39. Exponent has a 12-month low of $51.91 and a 12-month high of $81.95.

Exponent (NASDAQ:EXPO) last released its earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The business services provider reported $0.60 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.55 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $171.61 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $144.99 million. Exponent had a net margin of 17.67% and a return on equity of 31.48%. The business’s revenue was up 12.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.52 EPS. Research analysts forecast that Exponent will post 2.31 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Exponent news, CEO Catherine Corrigan sold 4,119 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $57.13, for a total transaction of $235,318.47. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 106,670 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,094,057.10. This trade represents a 3.72% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 1.70% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Exponent

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Inspire Investing LLC boosted its holdings in Exponent by 2.6% in the fourth quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 6,709 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $466,000 after acquiring an additional 172 shares during the last quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 194 shares during the period. Strs Ohio grew its holdings in shares of Exponent by 11.1% during the 4th quarter. Strs Ohio now owns 2,000 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $139,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the period. State of Michigan Retirement System increased its position in Exponent by 1.7% during the 1st quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System now owns 12,000 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $783,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in Exponent by 9.4% during the 2nd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,509 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $147,000 after purchasing an additional 216 shares in the last quarter. 92.37% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.