Edgestream Partners L.P. Purchases 37,057 Shares of Exponent, Inc. $EXPO

Edgestream Partners L.P. increased its position in Exponent, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXPO) by 48.6% in the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 113,330 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 37,057 shares during the quarter. Edgestream Partners L.P. owned 0.22% of Exponent worth $8,467,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Exponent by 1.2% during the first quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC now owns 4,791,747 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $388,419,000 after acquiring an additional 55,190 shares in the last quarter. Geneva Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Exponent by 7.6% during the 2nd quarter. Geneva Capital Management LLC now owns 1,877,765 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $140,288,000 after purchasing an additional 131,937 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in Exponent by 1.3% in the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,597,542 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $119,360,000 after purchasing an additional 21,272 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its stake in Exponent by 25.1% in the second quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 638,081 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $47,671,000 after purchasing an additional 128,131 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its position in Exponent by 17.6% during the second quarter. Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 596,118 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $44,442,000 after buying an additional 89,334 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.37% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently commented on EXPO. William Blair upgraded Exponent from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, November 17th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Exponent in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Exponent has an average rating of “Moderate Buy”.

Exponent Stock Performance

Shares of EXPO stock opened at $73.13 on Tuesday. Exponent, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $63.81 and a fifty-two week high of $99.72. The firm has a market cap of $3.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.57 and a beta of 0.91. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $69.22 and its 200-day moving average price is $71.93.

Exponent (NASDAQ:EXPO) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The business services provider reported $0.55 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.50 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $147.12 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $131.78 million. Exponent had a return on equity of 24.19% and a net margin of 18.35%.The firm’s revenue was up 9.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.50 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that Exponent, Inc. will post 1.98 EPS for the current year.

Exponent Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 19th. Investors of record on Friday, December 5th will be given a dividend of $0.30 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 5th. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.6%. Exponent’s payout ratio is currently 58.54%.

Exponent declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase program on Thursday, October 30th that permits the company to repurchase $100.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the business services provider to buy up to 3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are generally a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Transactions at Exponent

In related news, CEO Catherine Corrigan sold 4,930 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $66.82, for a total value of $329,422.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 82,753 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,529,555.46. This represents a 5.62% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Insiders have sold 14,735 shares of company stock valued at $1,017,242 over the last ninety days. 1.60% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Exponent Profile

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.