Exponent (NASDAQ:EXPO) Stock: Insider Richard Reiss Sells 1,280 Shares

Exponent, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXPO) VP Richard Reiss sold 1,280 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $86.44, for a total transaction of $110,643.20. Following the sale, the vice president directly owned 1,008 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $87,131.52. This represents a 55.94% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website.

Exponent Trading Up 1.4%

NASDAQ EXPO traded up $1.24 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $87.21. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 150,676 shares, compared to its average volume of 520,622. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $70.82 and a 200 day simple moving average of $66.77. Exponent, Inc. has a 52 week low of $51.91 and a 52 week high of $88.17. The stock has a market cap of $4.15 billion, a PE ratio of 37.59 and a beta of 0.66.

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

Exponent Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 18th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 4th will be given a $0.31 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 4th. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.4%. Exponent’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 53.45%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Exponent

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Capstone Investment Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Exponent during the 2nd quarter worth about $3,065,000. Bank of America Corp DE bought a new position in shares of Exponent in the second quarter valued at approximately $29,270,000. Jupiter Topco LLC bought a new position in shares of Exponent in the second quarter valued at approximately $1,309,000. Quantinno Capital Management LP increased its stake in shares of Exponent by 114.3% during the first quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 36,614 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $2,389,000 after acquiring an additional 19,528 shares during the period. Finally, Man Group plc acquired a new position in shares of Exponent during the second quarter valued at approximately $9,414,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.37% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

Exponent Company Profile

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.