Exponent (NASDAQ:EXPO) Hits New 12-Month Low After Analyst Downgrade

Exponent, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXPO)’s stock price hit a new 52-week low on Friday after JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on the stock from $100.00 to $95.00. JPMorgan Chase & Co. currently has an overweight rating on the stock. Exponent traded as low as $63.25 and last traded at $64.2330, with a volume of 124843 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $65.30.

Other equities research analysts also recently issued research reports about the stock. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Exponent in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. UBS Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $85.00 price objective on shares of Exponent in a research report on Monday, February 9th. Two research 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 $90.00.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Catherine Corrigan sold 3,920 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $67.15, for a total value of $263,228.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 93,731 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,294,036.65. The trade was a 4.01% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 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 value of $303,880.00. Following the transaction, the vice president owned 25,204 shares in the company, valued at $1,914,747.88. This trade represents a 13.70% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 9,583 shares of company stock valued at $687,709. Company insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Exponent

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Hsbc Holdings PLC lifted its position in shares of Exponent by 53.6% during the fourth quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 11,473 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $799,000 after purchasing an additional 4,006 shares in the last quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. increased its stake in Exponent by 331.5% during the 4th quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. now owns 3,340 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $232,000 after buying an additional 2,566 shares during the period. Corient Private Wealth LLC increased its stake in Exponent by 48.4% during the 4th quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 7,149 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $497,000 after buying an additional 2,331 shares during the period. Virtu Financial LLC acquired a new position in Exponent in the 4th quarter worth $602,000. Finally, Invesco Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Exponent by 2.7% during the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 581,878 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $40,417,000 after acquiring an additional 15,440 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.37% of the company’s stock.

Exponent Price Performance

The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $70.74 and a 200-day moving average price of $70.61. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.18 billion, a PE ratio of 31.00 and a beta of 0.77.

Exponent (NASDAQ:EXPO) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 5th. The business services provider reported $0.49 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.47 by $0.02. Exponent had a return on equity of 25.51% and a net margin of 18.21%.The firm had revenue of $147.43 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $128.48 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.46 earnings per share. Exponent’s quarterly revenue was up 4.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Exponent, Inc. will post 1.98 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Exponent Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 6th were given a $0.31 dividend. This represents a $1.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.9%. This is a positive change from Exponent’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.30. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 6th. Exponent’s payout ratio is currently 59.62%.

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.