Exponent (NASDAQ:EXPO) CEO Catherine Corrigan Sells 3,920 Shares

Exponent, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXPO) CEO Catherine Corrigan sold 3,920 shares of Exponent stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 93,731 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,294,036.65. The trade was a 4.01% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink.

Catherine Corrigan also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Thursday, January 15th, Catherine Corrigan sold 1,663 shares of Exponent stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $72.52, for a total value of $120,600.76.
• On Monday, December 15th, Catherine Corrigan sold 3,225 shares of Exponent stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.74, for a total transaction of $228,136.50.

Exponent Stock Up 2.2%

Shares of EXPO stock opened at $70.26 on Thursday. Exponent, Inc. has a 12-month low of $63.81 and a 12-month high of $88.41. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $72.68 and a 200-day moving average of $70.98. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.78 and a beta of 0.79.

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

Exponent announced that its board has initiated 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 repurchase up to 3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are generally an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Exponent Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 6th will be issued a $0.31 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 6th. This represents a $1.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.8%. This is an increase from Exponent’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.30. Exponent’s payout ratio is presently 57.69%.

Exponent News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Exponent this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Quarterly results beat estimates — Exponent posted higher-than-expected revenue and slightly beat EPS, showing steady year-over-year revenue growth and healthy margins and ROE, which supports investor confidence in the business and helps explain upward pressure on the stock.
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst / valuation discussion — Recent coverage highlights mixed momentum and “conflicting valuation signals” for EXPO; this type of analysis can keep trading volatile as investors weigh growth vs. valuation. Evaluating Exponent (EXPO) After Mixed Momentum And Conflicting Valuation Signals
• Neutral Sentiment: Multiple news items cover “Exponent Energy” launching an EV-financing arm (Exponent One) and raising pre-seed funding — this is a separate private company and is unrelated to Exponent, Inc. Investors should not conflate the coverage with EXPO’s fundamentals. Exponent Energy launches Exponent One to fix commercial EV financing gap
• Negative Sentiment: Insider sale — CEO Catherine Corrigan disclosed a sale of 3,920 shares at about $67.15 on Feb. 17 (filed with the SEC). Insider selling can be interpreted negatively by some investors, though the CEO still holds a large stake and this single sale represents a modest reduction in ownership. SEC Filing – Insider Sale

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently weighed in on EXPO. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Exponent in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. William Blair upgraded shares of Exponent from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, November 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. started coverage on shares of Exponent in a report on Monday, January 26th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $100.00 price target on the stock. Finally, UBS Group restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $85.00 price objective on shares of Exponent in a report on Monday, February 9th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $92.50.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of EXPO. Conestoga Capital Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Exponent by 1.3% in the fourth quarter. Conestoga Capital Advisors LLC now owns 2,392,499 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $166,183,000 after purchasing an additional 31,303 shares during the last quarter. Geneva Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Exponent by 7.6% during the 2nd quarter. Geneva Capital Management LLC now owns 1,877,765 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $140,288,000 after buying an additional 131,937 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Exponent by 1.3% during the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,597,542 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $119,360,000 after acquiring an additional 21,272 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley increased its holdings in Exponent by 3.6% in the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 1,154,210 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $80,172,000 after acquiring an additional 39,865 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its stake in Exponent by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 898,615 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $62,419,000 after acquiring an additional 2,654 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.