SG Americas Securities LLC Increases Stock Holdings in Exponent, Inc. $EXPO

SG Americas Securities LLC raised its position in shares of Exponent, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXPO) by 422.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 36,610 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 29,600 shares during the quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC owned 0.07% of Exponent worth $2,543,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in EXPO. Hantz Financial Services Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Exponent by 97.0% in the third quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 396 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 195 shares during the last quarter. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd purchased a new stake in Exponent during the third quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Winnow Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in Exponent during the third quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Pilgrim Partners Asia Pte Ltd bought a new position in Exponent in the third quarter worth approximately $38,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in Exponent by 50.4% in the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 576 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $40,000 after acquiring an additional 193 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.37% of the company’s stock.

Exponent Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:EXPO opened at $66.56 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $3.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.00 and a beta of 0.80. Exponent, Inc. has a 1-year low of $63.25 and a 1-year high of $83.92. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $69.86 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $70.47.

Exponent (NASDAQ:EXPO) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 5th. The business services provider reported $0.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.47 by $0.02. Exponent had a net margin of 18.21% and a return on equity of 25.51%. The firm had revenue of $147.43 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $128.48 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.46 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Exponent, Inc. will post 1.98 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Exponent Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 6th were given a $0.31 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 6th. This is a positive change from Exponent’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.30. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.9%. Exponent’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 59.62%.

Insider Transactions at Exponent

In related news, CEO Catherine Corrigan sold 3,920 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $67.15, for a total transaction of $263,228.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 93,731 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,294,036.65. This trade represents a 4.01% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction 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 Exponent stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.97, for a total value of $303,880.00. Following the sale, the vice president directly owned 25,204 shares in the company, valued at $1,914,747.88. This trade represents a 13.70% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 9,583 shares of company stock valued at $687,709. Corporate insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on EXPO. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on shares of Exponent from $100.00 to $95.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, March 26th. UBS Group reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $85.00 target price on shares of Exponent in a research report on Monday, February 9th. Finally, 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 given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Exponent currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $90.00.

Exponent 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.