Exponent (NASDAQ:EXPO) Hits New 1-Year Low After Analyst Downgrade

Key Points

• Exponent shares hit a new 52-week low, trading as low as $63.25 (last $64.23) after JPMorgan trimmed its price target from $100 to $95 while maintaining an overweight rating.
• Insider selling has accelerated recently: the VP sold 4,000 shares and the CEO sold 3,920 shares, with insiders offloading 9,583 shares in the past three months and now owning about 1.60% of the stock.
• Operationally, Exponent beat quarterly expectations (EPS $0.49 vs. $0.47; revenue $147.4M vs. $128.5M), raised its quarterly dividend to $0.31 (1.9% yield), and holds an analyst consensus of a Moderate Buy with an average target of $90.

Exponent, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXPO - Get Free Report)'s share price reached a new 52-week low during mid-day trading on Friday after JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on the stock from $100.00 to $95.00. JPMorgan Chase & Co. currently has an overweight rating on the stock. Exponent traded as low as $63.25 and last traded at $64.2330, with a volume of 124843 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $65.30.

A number of other analysts have also commented on the company. Weiss Ratings reissued a "hold (c-)" rating on shares of Exponent in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. UBS Group reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and issued a $85.00 price objective on shares of Exponent in a research note on Monday, February 9th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $90.00.

Insider Buying and Selling at Exponent

In related news, VP John Pye sold 4,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $75.97, for a total value of $303,880.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president directly owned 25,204 shares in the company, valued at $1,914,747.88. This represents a 13.70% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Catherine Corrigan sold 3,920 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 17th. The stock was 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. This represents a 4.01% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last three months, insiders sold 9,583 shares of company stock worth $687,709. 1.60% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Exponent

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Conestoga Capital Advisors LLC increased its position in Exponent by 1.3% during the 4th 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 period. Morgan Stanley lifted its position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 39,865 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its stake in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 2,654 shares during the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP boosted its stake in shares of Exponent by 54.9% in the 4th quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 898,343 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $62,399,000 after purchasing an additional 318,209 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Exponent during the fourth quarter worth $51,166,000. 92.37% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Exponent Price Performance

The company's 50-day moving average price is $70.94 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $70.66. The company has a market capitalization of $3.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.88 and a beta of 0.77.

Exponent (NASDAQ:EXPO - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 5th. The business services provider reported $0.49 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.47 by $0.02. Exponent had a net margin of 18.21% and a return on equity of 25.51%. The business had revenue of $147.43 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $128.48 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.46 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was up 4.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts expect that Exponent, Inc. will post 1.98 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Exponent Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 20th. Investors of record on Friday, March 6th were given a dividend of $0.31 per share. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.9%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 6th. This is a positive change from Exponent's previous quarterly dividend of $0.30. Exponent's dividend payout ratio is currently 59.62%.

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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