Exponent (NASDAQ:EXPO) Share Price Breaks Above Two Hundred Day Moving Average – Should You Sell?

Exponent, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXPO)’s stock price passed above its 200-day moving average during trading on Tuesday. The stock has a 200-day moving average of $64.33 and traded as high as $73.82. Exponent shares last traded at $72.55, with a volume of 787,421 shares traded.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have issued reports on EXPO shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Exponent from $80.00 to $90.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, July 31st. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Exponent from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research report on Friday, October 9th. Finally, UBS Group set a $72.00 price target on shares of Exponent and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, July 31st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $81.00.

Exponent Price Performance

The business has a 50 day moving average price of $69.02 and a 200 day moving average price of $64.45. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.58 and a beta of 0.69.

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

Exponent Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 18th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 4th were paid a $0.31 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, September 4th. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.6%. Exponent’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 55.61%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Catherine Corrigan sold 1,707 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $66.28, for a total transaction 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. The trade was a 1.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders own 1.70% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Exponent

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. BlackRock Inc. bought a new stake in Exponent in the 2nd quarter valued at $363,428,000. First Trust Advisors LP increased its holdings in shares of Exponent by 7.4% during the 1st quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 964,814 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $62,954,000 after purchasing an additional 66,471 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holdings in shares of Exponent by 2.3% during the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 918,885 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $59,958,000 after purchasing an additional 20,270 shares during the period. Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Exponent by 3.5% during the 1st quarter. Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 691,256 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $45,102,000 after purchasing an additional 23,154 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE increased its holdings in shares of Exponent by 0.5% during the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 539,793 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $35,221,000 after purchasing an additional 2,707 shares during the period. 92.37% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.