Louisiana State Employees Retirement System Makes New $946,000 Investment in Exponent, Inc. $EXPO

Louisiana State Employees Retirement System purchased a new position in Exponent, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXPO) in the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm purchased 14,500 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $946,000.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Exponent during the fourth quarter valued at about $51,166,000. Two Sigma Investments LP bought a new position in Exponent in the 3rd quarter valued at about $29,780,000. First Trust Advisors LP grew its position in Exponent by 135.8% in the 3rd quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 580,134 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $40,308,000 after buying an additional 334,154 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its stake 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 valued at $38,046,000 after buying an additional 293,075 shares during the period. Finally, Royce & Associates LP raised its position in shares of 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 buying an additional 276,889 shares in the last quarter. 92.37% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Exponent Stock Performance

Shares of Exponent stock opened at $60.98 on Monday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $59.32 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $66.54. Exponent, Inc. has a 52 week low of $51.91 and a 52 week high of $81.95. The stock has a market cap of $2.96 billion, a PE ratio of 28.36 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, beating the consensus estimate of $0.56 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $166.30 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $149.53 million. Exponent had a net margin of 18.07% and a return on equity of 27.94%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 14.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.52 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that Exponent, Inc. will post 2.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Exponent Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 18th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 5th were given a $0.31 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 5th. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.0%. Exponent’s payout ratio is 57.67%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Exponent

In other Exponent news, VP Joseph Rakow sold 2,945 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $54.66, for a total value of $160,973.70. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, VP Bradley A. James sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $57.47, for a total value of $114,940.00. Following the sale, the vice president owned 1,105 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $63,504.35. This trade represents a 64.41% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 19,233 shares of company stock worth $1,119,659. 1.60% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. UBS Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $75.00 price target on shares of Exponent in a research note on Tuesday, June 2nd. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Exponent in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on Exponent from $95.00 to $80.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 15th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $77.50.

About Exponent

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.