Exponent (NASDAQ:EXPO) Hits New 12-Month High on Better-Than-Expected Earnings

Exponent, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXPO)’s stock price hit a new 52-week high on Friday after the company announced better than expected quarterly earnings. The company traded as high as $102.52 and last traded at $101.87, with a volume of 235195 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $79.68.

The business services provider reported $0.59 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.46 by $0.13. Exponent had a return on equity of 28.50% and a net margin of 18.72%. The firm had revenue of $137.21 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $125.98 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.56 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.6% compared to the same quarter last year.

Exponent Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 21st. Investors of record on Friday, June 7th will be given a dividend of $0.28 per share. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.18%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 7th. Exponent’s dividend payout ratio is currently 56.57%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently issued reports on EXPO. Truist Financial reduced their target price on Exponent from $110.00 to $95.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 2nd. StockNews.com raised Exponent from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, March 4th.

Insider Buying and Selling at Exponent

In other Exponent news, insider Eric Guyer sold 3,367 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $78.49, for a total transaction of $264,275.83. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 2.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Exponent

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Exponent by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 4,995,605 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $439,813,000 after buying an additional 19,795 shares during the last quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Exponent by 9.5% in the third quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC now owns 4,685,472 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $401,076,000 after buying an additional 408,295 shares during the last quarter. Conestoga Capital Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Exponent by 9.6% in the first quarter. Conestoga Capital Advisors LLC now owns 2,687,351 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $222,217,000 after buying an additional 236,050 shares during the last quarter. Geneva Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Exponent by 10.4% in the fourth quarter. Geneva Capital Management LLC now owns 1,558,189 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $137,183,000 after buying an additional 146,778 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Exponent by 11.4% in the third quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 693,259 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $59,343,000 after buying an additional 71,074 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.37% of the company’s stock.

Exponent Stock Up 19.5 %

The stock has a market cap of $4.82 billion, a PE ratio of 48.09 and a beta of 0.68. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $79.93 and a 200 day moving average price of $81.88.

About Exponent

Exponent, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, operates as a science and engineering consulting company in the United States and internationally. The company operates in two segments, Engineering and Other Scientific, and Environmental and Health. The Engineering and Other Scientific segment provides services in the areas of biomechanics, biomedical engineering and sciences, buildings and structures, civil engineering, construction consulting, data sciences, electrical engineering and computer science, human factors, materials and corrosion engineering, mechanical engineering, polymer science and materials chemistry, thermal sciences, and vehicle engineering.