Exponent (NASDAQ:EXPO) Stock Bumped Up to Strong-Buy by Zacks Research

Zacks Research upgraded shares of Exponent (NASDAQ:EXPO) from a hold rating to a strong-buy rating in a research report report published on Monday morning,Zacks reports.

A number of other analysts have also recently issued reports on EXPO. UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of Exponent from $72.00 to $82.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, October 30th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Exponent from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research note on Friday, October 9th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Exponent from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, October 30th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have given a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Exponent has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $91.00.

Exponent Trading Down 0.7%

Shares of EXPO stock opened at $85.97 on Monday. Exponent has a 1-year low of $51.91 and a 1-year high of $87.97. The company has a market capitalization of $4.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.06 and a beta of 0.66. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $70.82 and its 200-day simple moving average is $66.77.

Exponent (NASDAQ:EXPO) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 29th. The business services provider reported $0.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.60 by $0.04. Exponent had a net margin of 17.40% and a return on equity of 34.61%. The business had revenue of $173.73 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $149.64 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.55 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 11.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Exponent will post 2.36 EPS for the current year.

Exponent Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 18th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 4th will be issued a dividend of $0.31 per share. This represents a $1.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 4th. Exponent’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 53.45%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Catherine Corrigan sold 1,707 shares of Exponent stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $66.28, for a total transaction of $113,139.96. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 129,108 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,557,278.24. This trade represents a 1.30% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders own 1.70% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of EXPO. BlackRock Inc. bought a new position in Exponent in the second quarter valued at approximately $363,428,000. Bank of America Corp DE acquired a new position in Exponent during the second quarter valued at approximately $29,270,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp bought a new stake in Exponent during the second quarter worth $24,442,000. Bamco Inc. NY bought a new stake in Exponent during the second quarter worth $21,406,000. Finally, Fifth Third Bancorp boosted its holdings in shares of Exponent by 4,466.2% in the 1st quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 280,639 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $18,312,000 after purchasing an additional 274,493 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.37% of the company’s stock.

About Exponent

Exponent, Inc is a science and engineering consulting company that helps clients investigate complex technical issues, manage risks, and develop solutions. Its consultants work across disciplines including engineering, materials science, biomechanics, human factors, environmental science, health, data sciences, and economics.

The company provides failure analysis, product safety and testing, accident reconstruction, environmental and health assessments, regulatory support, and expert testimony.