Exponent (NASDAQ:EXPO) CEO Catherine Corrigan Sells 1,663 Shares

Exponent, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXPO) CEO Catherine Corrigan sold 1,663 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $72.52, for a total value of $120,600.76. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 92,723 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,724,271.96. This trade represents a 1.76% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link.

Catherine Corrigan also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Monday, December 15th, Catherine Corrigan sold 3,225 shares of Exponent stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.74, for a total value of $228,136.50.
• On Monday, November 17th, Catherine Corrigan sold 4,900 shares of Exponent stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.39, for a total value of $344,911.00.

Exponent Trading Down 1.6%

NASDAQ EXPO opened at $73.39 on Wednesday. Exponent, Inc. has a 12 month low of $63.81 and a 12 month high of $97.57. The stock has a market cap of $3.66 billion, a PE ratio of 35.80 and a beta of 0.81. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $72.20 and its 200 day moving average is $70.99.

Exponent (NASDAQ:EXPO) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 30th. The business services provider reported $0.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.50 by $0.05. Exponent had a net margin of 18.35% and a return on equity of 24.77%. The business had revenue of $147.12 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $131.78 million. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.50 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 9.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts forecast that Exponent, Inc. will post 1.98 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Exponent announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback program on Thursday, October 30th that permits the company to repurchase $100.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the business services provider to repurchase up to 3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are typically a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Exponent Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 19th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 5th were issued a $0.30 dividend. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.6%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 5th. Exponent’s payout ratio is currently 58.54%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of EXPO. Geneva Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Exponent by 7.6% in the second quarter. Geneva Capital Management LLC now owns 1,877,765 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $140,288,000 after buying an additional 131,937 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Exponent by 1.3% during the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,597,542 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $119,360,000 after acquiring an additional 21,272 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp grew its position in Exponent by 0.6% in the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 733,354 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $50,953,000 after acquiring an additional 4,695 shares during the last quarter. Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its stake in Exponent by 18.3% in the third quarter. Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 705,278 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $48,980,000 after purchasing an additional 109,160 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE increased its stake in Exponent by 15.9% in the second quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 645,726 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $48,242,000 after purchasing an additional 88,350 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.37% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Exponent in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. UBS Group restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $81.00 price target (up previously from $76.00) on shares of Exponent in a research report on Monday, December 15th. Finally, William Blair raised shares of Exponent from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, November 17th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Exponent currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $81.00.

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.