Retirement Systems of Alabama Increases Stock Position in Exponent, Inc. $EXPO

Retirement Systems of Alabama boosted its position in shares of Exponent, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXPO) by 46.2% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 90,658 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 28,629 shares during the period. Retirement Systems of Alabama owned approximately 0.18% of Exponent worth $6,299,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. United Services Automobile Association purchased a new position in Exponent in the 1st quarter valued at about $270,000. Jane Street Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of Exponent by 1,481.0% in the first quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 127,222 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $10,313,000 after acquiring an additional 119,175 shares in the last quarter. Hilltop National Bank purchased a new position in Exponent in the second quarter valued at about $167,000. Fenimore Asset Management Inc grew its stake in Exponent by 0.3% during the 2nd quarter. Fenimore Asset Management Inc now owns 191,483 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $14,306,000 after purchasing an additional 588 shares in the last quarter. Finally, KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS increased its holdings in Exponent by 4.0% during the 2nd quarter. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS now owns 18,300 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,367,000 after purchasing an additional 700 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.37% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. UBS Group reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $81.00 price target (up previously from $76.00) on shares of Exponent in a research report on Monday, December 15th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Exponent in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. began coverage on shares of Exponent in a research report on Monday, January 26th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $100.00 target price for the company. Finally, William Blair upgraded shares of Exponent from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, November 17th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Exponent has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $90.50.

Exponent Stock Up 0.5%

Shares of NASDAQ:EXPO opened at $71.87 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $3.59 billion, a PE ratio of 35.06 and a beta of 0.81. Exponent, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $63.81 and a fifty-two week high of $97.57. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $72.92 and a 200 day simple moving average of $70.98.

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

Exponent declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Thursday, October 30th that permits the company to buyback $100.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization permits the business services provider to buy up to 3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are usually an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Transactions at Exponent

In related news, CEO Catherine Corrigan sold 4,900 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.39, for a total transaction of $344,911.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 83,429 shares in the company, valued at $5,872,567.31. The trade was a 5.55% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 9,788 shares of company stock worth $693,648. Insiders own 1.60% 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.