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

Key Points

• Dividend: Exponent declared a quarterly dividend of $0.31 per share (ex-dividend/record date June 5, payable June 18), equal to a $1.24 annual payout and about a 1.9% yield. The company has increased its dividend for 12 consecutive years and a 57.9% payout ratio (projected to fall to ~48% next year) indicates the dividend is covered by earnings.
• Earnings and outlook: Exponent beat expectations with Q earnings of $0.59 per share (vs. $0.56) and revenue of $166.3M (vs. $149.5M), up 14.3% year-over-year; shares were down ~1.8% to $65.67, while analysts hold a consensus "Moderate Buy" rating with an average target of $90.

Exponent, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXPO - Get Free Report) announced a quarterly dividend on Thursday, April 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 5th will be paid a dividend of 0.31 per share by the business services provider on Thursday, June 18th. This represents a c) dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 5th.

Exponent has increased its dividend by an average of 0.1%annually over the last three years and has raised its dividend annually for the last 12 consecutive years. Exponent has a payout ratio of 57.9% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities analysts expect Exponent to earn $2.58 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 48.1%.

Exponent Trading Down 1.8%

Shares of EXPO stock traded down $1.22 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $65.67. 32,428 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 462,202. Exponent has a 1 year low of $63.25 and a 1 year high of $81.95. The stock has a market cap of $3.19 billion, a PE ratio of 31.57 and a beta of 0.80. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $67.96 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $70.28.

Exponent (NASDAQ:EXPO - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The business services provider reported $0.59 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.56 by $0.03. Exponent had a return on equity of 25.51% and a net margin of 18.21%.The business had revenue of $166.30 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $149.53 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.52 earnings per share. The company's revenue was up 14.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts expect that Exponent will post 2.27 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have issued reports on EXPO. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on Exponent from $100.00 to $95.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, March 26th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "hold (c-)" rating on shares of Exponent in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. Finally, UBS Group reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and set a $85.00 target price on shares of Exponent in a research note on Monday, February 9th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $90.00.

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.

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