Exponent, Inc. $EXPO Stock Sold by Conestoga Capital Advisors LLC

Conestoga Capital Advisors LLC trimmed its holdings in Exponent, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXPO) by 41.2% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 744,573 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 521,131 shares during the period. Exponent accounts for about 1.5% of Conestoga Capital Advisors LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 26th biggest holding. Conestoga Capital Advisors LLC’s holdings in Exponent were worth $48,710,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in EXPO. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC bought a new position in Exponent in the 3rd quarter valued at about $226,000. Covestor Ltd grew its position in shares of Exponent by 10.3% in the third quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 2,050 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $134,000 after purchasing an additional 192 shares during the last quarter. Bridge City Capital LLC increased its stake in shares of Exponent by 21.6% during the third quarter. Bridge City Capital LLC now owns 49,231 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $3,221,000 after purchasing an additional 8,729 shares during the period. Vise Technologies Inc. bought a new position in shares of Exponent during the third quarter worth approximately $343,000. Finally, VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al bought a new position in shares of Exponent during the third quarter worth approximately $216,000. 92.37% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

EXPO has been the topic of a number of research reports. UBS Group upped their price objective on Exponent from $72.00 to $82.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, October 30th. Zacks Research raised shares of Exponent from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Exponent from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, October 30th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised shares of Exponent from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research report on Friday, October 9th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have issued a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Exponent presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $91.00.

Exponent Trading Up 1.7%

NASDAQ EXPO opened at $87.43 on Thursday. Exponent, Inc. has a 1-year low of $51.91 and a 1-year high of $88.17. The company has a 50 day moving average of $71.17 and a 200-day moving average of $66.84. The company has a market cap of $4.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.69 and a beta of 0.66.

Exponent (NASDAQ:EXPO) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 29th. The business services provider reported $0.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.60 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $173.73 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $149.64 million. Exponent had a return on equity of 34.61% and a net margin of 17.40%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.55 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Exponent, Inc. will post 2.36 earnings per share for the current year.

Exponent Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 18th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 4th will be given a dividend of $0.31 per share. This represents a $1.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.4%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 4th. Exponent’s dividend payout ratio is presently 53.45%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Catherine Corrigan sold 1,707 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $66.28, for a total transaction of $113,139.96. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 129,108 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,557,278.24. This represents a 1.30% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, VP Richard Reiss sold 1,280 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $86.44, for a total value of $110,643.20. Following the sale, the vice president directly owned 1,008 shares in the company, valued at approximately $87,131.52. This trade represents a 55.94% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Corporate insiders own 1.70% of the company’s stock.

About Exponent

Exponent, Inc is a science and engineering consulting company that helps clients investigate complex technical issues, manage risks, and develop solutions. Its consultants work across disciplines including engineering, materials science, biomechanics, human factors, environmental science, health, data sciences, and economics.

The company provides failure analysis, product safety and testing, accident reconstruction, environmental and health assessments, regulatory support, and expert testimony.