Exponent (NASDAQ:EXPO) VP Joseph Sala Sells 2,066 Shares

Exponent, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXPO) VP Joseph Sala sold 2,066 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $56.66, for a total value of $117,059.56. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink.

Exponent Price Performance

EXPO traded down $2.65 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $54.54. 972,377 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 469,084. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $66.50 and a 200-day simple moving average of $69.96. Exponent, Inc. has a 12 month low of $51.91 and a 12 month high of $81.95. The stock has a market cap of $2.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.37 and a beta of 0.78.

Exponent (NASDAQ:EXPO) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 30th. The business services provider reported $0.59 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.56 by $0.03. Exponent had a return on equity of 27.94% and a net margin of 18.07%.The firm had revenue of $166.30 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $149.53 million. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.52 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 14.3% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side 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 paid a $0.31 dividend. This represents a $1.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.3%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 5th. Exponent’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 57.67%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Exponent

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Bell Investment Advisors Inc raised its stake in shares of Exponent by 423.6% during the first quarter. Bell Investment Advisors Inc now owns 377 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 305 shares in the last quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. raised its stake in shares of Exponent by 97.0% during the third 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 in the last quarter. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Exponent during the third quarter valued at about $33,000. Allworth Financial LP raised its stake in shares of Exponent by 86.1% during the fourth quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 469 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 217 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Winnow Wealth LLC bought a new stake in shares of Exponent during the third quarter valued at about $34,000. 92.37% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

EXPO has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on Exponent from $100.00 to $95.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, March 26th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Exponent in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. Finally, UBS Group cut their target price on Exponent from $85.00 to $75.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Exponent presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $85.00.

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.