Exponent (NASDAQ:EXPO) Given New $95.00 Price Target at JPMorgan Chase & Co.

Exponent (NASDAQ:EXPO) had its price objective cut by JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $100.00 to $95.00 in a research report sent to investors on Thursday morning,Benzinga reports. They currently have an overweight rating on the business services provider’s stock.

A number of other analysts have also issued reports on the company. UBS Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $85.00 target price on shares of Exponent in a research report on Monday, February 9th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Exponent in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Exponent currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $90.00.

Exponent Trading Down 0.1%

Shares of EXPO stock opened at $65.30 on Thursday. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $70.94 and a 200-day simple moving average of $70.66. The company has a market capitalization of $3.22 billion, a PE ratio of 31.39 and a beta of 0.77. Exponent has a twelve month low of $63.81 and a twelve month high of $83.92.

Exponent (NASDAQ:EXPO) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 5th. The business services provider reported $0.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.47 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $147.43 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $128.48 million. Exponent had a net margin of 18.21% and a return on equity of 25.51%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 4.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.46 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Exponent will post 1.98 EPS for the current year.

Exponent Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 6th were issued a dividend of $0.31 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 6th. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.9%. This is an increase from Exponent’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.30. Exponent’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 59.62%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Catherine Corrigan sold 3,920 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $67.15, for a total value of $263,228.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 93,731 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,294,036.65. This represents a 4.01% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, VP John Pye sold 4,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $75.97, for a total transaction of $303,880.00. Following the transaction, the vice president directly owned 25,204 shares in the company, valued at $1,914,747.88. The trade was a 13.70% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 9,583 shares of company stock valued at $687,709 in the last three months. Insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in EXPO. Conestoga Capital Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Exponent by 1.3% during the 4th quarter. Conestoga Capital Advisors LLC now owns 2,392,499 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $166,183,000 after acquiring an additional 31,303 shares in the last quarter. Morgan Stanley boosted its holdings in Exponent by 3.6% in the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 1,154,210 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $80,172,000 after purchasing an additional 39,865 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its holdings in Exponent by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 898,615 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $62,419,000 after purchasing an additional 2,654 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP increased its stake in Exponent by 54.9% during the fourth quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 898,343 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $62,399,000 after purchasing an additional 318,209 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Exponent during the fourth quarter worth $51,166,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.37% of the company’s stock.

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.