Exponent, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXPO) Short Interest Update

Exponent, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXPO) saw a significant decline in short interest during the month of May. As of May 29th, there was short interest totaling 2,048,221 shares, a decline of 33.5% from the May 14th total of 3,081,228 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 553,097 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 3.7 days. Approximately 4.3% of the shares of the stock are short sold.

Exponent Price Performance

EXPO stock opened at $57.24 on Tuesday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $61.76 and a 200 day moving average price of $67.96. Exponent has a fifty-two week low of $51.91 and a fifty-two week high of $81.95. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.78 billion, a PE ratio of 26.62 and a beta of 0.72.

Exponent (NASDAQ:EXPO) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 30th. The business services provider reported $0.59 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.56 by $0.03. Exponent had a net margin of 18.07% and a return on equity of 27.94%. The firm had revenue of $166.30 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $149.53 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.52 EPS. Exponent’s revenue was up 14.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts expect that Exponent will post 2.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Exponent Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 18th. Investors of record on Friday, June 5th will be given a $0.31 dividend. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.2%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 5th. Exponent’s payout ratio is 57.67%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

EXPO has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Exponent in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. UBS Group restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $75.00 price objective on shares of Exponent in a research report on Tuesday, June 2nd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on shares of Exponent from $95.00 to $80.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 15th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Exponent has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $77.50.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Catherine Corrigan sold 4,194 shares of Exponent stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $54.06, for a total value of $226,727.64. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 105,218 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,688,085.08. The trade was a 3.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, VP Joseph Sala sold 2,066 shares of Exponent stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $56.66, for a total transaction of $117,059.56. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 15,114 shares of company stock worth $884,340. 1.60% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of EXPO. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Exponent during the 4th quarter worth $51,166,000. Two Sigma Investments LP acquired a new stake in Exponent during the 3rd quarter worth $29,780,000. First Trust Advisors LP grew its holdings in Exponent by 135.8% during the 3rd quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 580,134 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $40,308,000 after acquiring an additional 334,154 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Exponent by 115.1% during the 4th quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 547,737 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $38,046,000 after acquiring an additional 293,075 shares during the period. Finally, Royce & Associates LP grew its holdings in Exponent by 73.8% during the 4th quarter. Royce & Associates LP now owns 652,109 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $45,295,000 after acquiring an additional 276,889 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 92.37% of the company’s stock.

Exponent Company Profile

Exponent, Inc (NASDAQ: EXPO) is an engineering and scientific consulting firm that offers multidisciplinary analysis and advisory services to clients across a range of industries. The company’s expertise spans mechanical, materials and corrosion engineering, civil and structural engineering, electrical engineering, industrial hygiene, toxicology and health sciences, and failure analysis. Exponent provides support for product design, performance evaluation, litigation consulting, and regulatory compliance, helping manufacturers, insurers, law firms and government agencies address complex technical challenges.

Founded in 1967 in Menlo Park, California, Exponent has grown from a small failure-analysis laboratory into a global consulting practice.