Exponent, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXPO) Declares Quarterly Dividend of $0.31

Key Points

• Exponent declared a quarterly dividend of $0.31 per share, payable December 18 to shareholders of record on December 4. The dividend annualizes to $1.24 per share and yields approximately 1.6%.
• The company has increased its dividend for 12 consecutive years, with a 57.9% payout ratio indicating coverage by earnings. Analysts expect a future payout ratio of about 46.4% based on projected earnings.
• Exponent reported quarterly EPS of $0.64, exceeding estimates of $0.60, while revenue rose 11.7% year over year to $173.73 million. Analysts maintain a “Moderate Buy” consensus rating with an $81 average price target.

Exponent, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXPO - Get Free Report) announced a quarterly dividend on Thursday, October 29th. Investors of record on Friday, December 4th will be paid a dividend of $0.31 per share by the business services provider on Friday, December 18th. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 4th.

Exponent has raised its dividend by an average of 0.1% annually over the last three years and has increased its dividend annually for the last 12 consecutive years. Exponent has a payout ratio of 57.9% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Research analysts expect Exponent to earn $2.67 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $1.24 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 46.4%.

Exponent Stock Up 1.6%

EXPO opened at $78.31 on Friday. Exponent has a 12-month low of $51.91 and a 12-month high of $81.95. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.12 and a beta of 0.69. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $69.97 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $66.61.

Exponent (NASDAQ:EXPO - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 29th. The business services provider reported $0.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.60 by $0.04. Exponent had a net margin of 17.67% and a return on equity of 31.48%. The business had revenue of $173.73 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $149.64 million. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.55 earnings per share. Exponent's quarterly revenue was up 11.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts anticipate that Exponent will post 2.31 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on EXPO. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Exponent from $80.00 to $90.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, July 31st. UBS Group set a $72.00 price objective on Exponent and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, July 31st. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded Exponent from a "hold (c-)" rating to a "hold (c)" rating in a research report on Friday, October 9th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Exponent presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $81.00.

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.

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