Exponent, Inc. $EXPO Shares Bought by PineStone Asset Management Inc.

PineStone Asset Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Exponent, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXPO) by 7.0% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 131,294 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 8,600 shares during the quarter. PineStone Asset Management Inc. owned approximately 0.26% of Exponent worth $9,122,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in EXPO. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. purchased a new position in Exponent during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $34,000. Bessemer Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Exponent by 21.7% in the second quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 829 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $62,000 after acquiring an additional 148 shares during the period. Hilltop National Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Exponent in the second quarter valued at approximately $167,000. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Exponent during the second quarter worth approximately $204,000. Finally, FORA Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Exponent in the 2nd quarter valued at $228,000. 92.37% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

EXPO has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. William Blair upgraded shares of Exponent from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, November 17th. UBS Group reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $81.00 target price (up previously from $76.00) on shares of Exponent in a research note on Monday, December 15th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Exponent in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $81.00.

Insider Activity at Exponent

In other news, CEO Catherine Corrigan sold 3,225 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.74, for a total value of $228,136.50. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 84,134 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,951,639.16. This trade represents a 3.69% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 13,055 shares of company stock valued at $902,470. 1.60% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Exponent Stock Performance

Shares of Exponent stock opened at $71.35 on Friday. Exponent, Inc. has a one year low of $63.81 and a one year high of $97.57. The company has a market cap of $3.56 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.81 and a beta of 0.82. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $71.16 and a two-hundred day moving average of $71.34.

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

Exponent Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 19th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 5th were given a dividend of $0.30 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 5th. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.7%. Exponent’s payout ratio is presently 58.54%.

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

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.