Exponent (NASDAQ:EXPO) Stock Jumps 7.6% – Time to Buy?

Exponent, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXPO) shares shot up 7.6% during trading on Thursday. The company traded as high as $70.53 and last traded at $70.4050. 482,317 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 6% from the average daily volume of 511,304 shares. The stock had previously closed at $65.42.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently issued reports on EXPO. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Exponent in a research note on Friday, July 17th. UBS Group set a $72.00 price target on Exponent and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, July 31st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Exponent from $80.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, July 31st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $81.00.

Exponent Trading Up 7.6%

The firm has a market capitalization of $3.35 billion, a PE ratio of 31.58 and a beta of 0.68. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $67.38 and a two-hundred day moving average of $63.86.

Exponent (NASDAQ:EXPO) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The business services provider reported $0.60 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.55 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $171.61 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $144.99 million. Exponent had a return on equity of 31.48% and a net margin of 17.67%.The firm’s revenue was up 12.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.52 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that Exponent, Inc. will post 2.31 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Exponent Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 18th. Investors of record on Friday, September 4th were issued a $0.31 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, September 4th. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.8%. Exponent’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 55.61%.

Insider Transactions at Exponent

In other news, CEO Catherine Corrigan sold 1,707 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $66.28, for a total value of $113,139.96. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 129,108 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,557,278.24. This trade represents a 1.30% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 1.70% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Quantinno Capital Management LP boosted its holdings in Exponent by 114.3% in 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 purchasing an additional 19,528 shares during the last quarter. Jupiter Topco LLC acquired a new position in shares of Exponent in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $1,309,000. Caisse de depot et placement du Quebec acquired a new position in shares of Exponent in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $1,187,000. Susquehanna International Group LLP boosted its stake in shares of Exponent by 42.9% during the 2nd quarter. Susquehanna International Group LLP now owns 75,694 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $4,448,000 after buying an additional 22,733 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its position in shares of Exponent by 2.3% during the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 918,885 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $59,958,000 after buying an additional 20,270 shares in the last quarter. 92.37% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Exponent Company Profile

Exponent, Inc is an engineering and scientific consulting company that helps clients investigate complex technical issues, manage risk, and improve the safety and performance of products, systems, and structures. Its multidisciplinary consulting services support legal, insurance, industrial, government, and other organizational clients.

The company’s services include failure analysis, accident reconstruction, product safety and testing, materials and corrosion analysis, environmental and human health assessments, biomechanics, human factors, electrical and electronic systems analysis, civil and structural engineering, and data sciences.