Exponent (NASDAQ:EXPO) Sets New 52-Week Low - Here's What Happened

Exponent, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXPO - Get Free Report) shares reached a new 52-week low during trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as low as $72.30 and last traded at $72.34, with a volume of 245513 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $74.46.

Exponent Trading Up 1.6%

The stock has a market capitalization of $3.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.13 and a beta of 0.90. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $76.40 and a 200 day moving average of $81.78.

Exponent (NASDAQ:EXPO - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The business services provider reported $0.52 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.48 by $0.04. Exponent had a return on equity of 25.33% and a net margin of 18.87%. The company had revenue of $137.44 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $134.63 million. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.59 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up .2% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts predict that Exponent, Inc. will post 1.98 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Exponent Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 6th were given a $0.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 6th. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.62%. Exponent's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 58.54%.

Insider Transactions at Exponent

In other news, VP Bradley A. James sold 2,694 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $79.52, for a total value of $214,226.88. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, VP John Pye sold 2,000 shares of Exponent stock in a transaction on Friday, May 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $76.32, for a total value of $152,640.00. Following the sale, the vice president directly owned 29,204 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,228,849.28. The trade was a 6.41% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 6,267 shares of company stock valued at $489,120 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 1.60% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Exponent

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Bank of Montreal Can boosted its position in Exponent by 1.5% during the fourth quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 8,747 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $779,000 after purchasing an additional 131 shares during the last quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue raised its holdings in Exponent by 2.7% during the first quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 5,946 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $481,000 after buying an additional 155 shares in the last quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC raised its holdings in Exponent by 3.8% during the fourth quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 4,418 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $394,000 after buying an additional 161 shares in the last quarter. Mitchell & Pahl Private Wealth LLC raised its holdings in Exponent by 2.5% during the first quarter. Mitchell & Pahl Private Wealth LLC now owns 6,709 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $544,000 after buying an additional 164 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Portside Wealth Group LLC raised its holdings in Exponent by 6.0% during the first quarter. Portside Wealth Group LLC now owns 2,993 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $243,000 after buying an additional 170 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.37% of the company's stock.

About Exponent

Exponent, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, operates as a science and engineering consulting company in the United States and internationally. The company operates in two segments, Engineering and Other Scientific, and Environmental and Health. The Engineering and Other Scientific segment provides services in the areas of biomechanics, biomedical engineering and sciences, buildings and structures, civil engineering, construction consulting, data sciences, electrical engineering and computer science, human factors, materials and corrosion engineering, mechanical engineering, polymer science and materials chemistry, thermal sciences, and vehicle engineering.