Exponent (NASDAQ:EXPO) Reaches New 52-Week High on Better-Than-Expected Earnings

Exponent, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXPO)’s stock price hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Friday following a better than expected earnings announcement. The stock traded as high as $102.52 and last traded at $101.87, with a volume of 235195 shares. The stock had previously closed at $79.68.

The business services provider reported $0.59 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.46 by $0.13. Exponent had a net margin of 18.69% and a return on equity of 28.49%. The business had revenue of $137.21 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $125.98 million. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.56 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 6.6% compared to the same quarter last year.

Exponent Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 22nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 8th were issued a $0.28 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 7th. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.15%. This is a boost from Exponent’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. Exponent’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 57.44%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on EXPO shares. StockNews.com raised shares of Exponent from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, March 4th. Truist Financial cut their target price on shares of Exponent from $110.00 to $95.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 2nd.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Eric Guyer sold 3,367 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $78.49, for a total transaction of $264,275.83. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Corporate insiders own 2.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC grew its position in Exponent by 1,092.5% in the third quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 7,453 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $638,000 after buying an additional 6,828 shares during the last quarter. Fenimore Asset Management Inc. acquired a new position in Exponent in the third quarter worth approximately $9,091,000. Raymond James & Associates grew its position in Exponent by 2.1% in the third quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 484,488 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $41,472,000 after buying an additional 10,046 shares during the last quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System grew its position in Exponent by 2.6% in the third quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System now owns 40,168 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $3,438,000 after buying an additional 1,020 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank grew its position in Exponent by 43.3% in the third quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 13,211 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,131,000 after buying an additional 3,994 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.37% of the company’s stock.

Exponent Stock Up 22.2 %

The stock has a market cap of $4.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 48.96 and a beta of 0.68. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $79.55 and its 200-day simple moving average is $81.92.

Exponent Company Profile

Exponent, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, operates as a science and engineering consulting company in the United States and internationally. The company operates in two segments, Engineering and Other Scientific, and Environmental and Health. The Engineering and Other Scientific segment provides services in the areas of biomechanics, biomedical engineering and sciences, buildings and structures, civil engineering, construction consulting, data sciences, electrical engineering and computer science, human factors, materials and corrosion engineering, mechanical engineering, polymer science and materials chemistry, thermal sciences, and vehicle engineering.