Bamco Inc. NY Acquires New Stake in Exponent, Inc. $EXPO

Key Points

• Bamco Inc. NY acquired 364,297 shares of Exponent in the second quarter, creating a stake worth approximately $21.4 million, or 0.77% of the company. Institutional investors collectively own 92.37% of EXPO.
• Exponent reported stronger-than-expected quarterly results, with EPS of $0.60 versus the $0.55 consensus estimate and revenue of $171.61 million, up 12% year over year. Analysts maintain a “Moderate Buy” consensus rating with an average price target of $81.
• Exponent declared a quarterly dividend of $0.31 per share, equal to $1.24 annually and a 1.7% yield. CEO Catherine Corrigan also sold 1,707 shares under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan.

Bamco Inc. NY bought a new position in shares of Exponent, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXPO - Free Report) in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 364,297 shares of the business services provider's stock, valued at approximately $21,406,000. Bamco Inc. NY owned approximately 0.77% of Exponent as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in EXPO. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. raised its holdings in shares of Exponent by 87,479.8% during the 4th quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 230,335 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $15,999,000 after buying an additional 230,072 shares in the last quarter. Vest Financial LLC boosted its stake in Exponent by 69.4% in the fourth quarter. Vest Financial LLC now owns 62,350 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $4,331,000 after buying an additional 25,537 shares in the last quarter. UBS Group AG boosted its stake in Exponent by 29.7% in the fourth quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 176,404 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $12,253,000 after buying an additional 40,359 shares in the last quarter. Conestoga Capital Advisors LLC grew its position in Exponent by 1.3% during the fourth quarter. Conestoga Capital Advisors LLC now owns 2,392,499 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $166,183,000 after acquiring an additional 31,303 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Quantinno Capital Management LP raised its position in Exponent by 114.3% in the 1st quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 36,614 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $2,389,000 after purchasing an additional 19,528 shares during the period. 92.37% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the company. 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Exponent from $80.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, July 31st. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a "hold (c-)" rating on shares of Exponent in a research report on Friday, July 17th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Exponent presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $81.00.

Insider Activity at Exponent

In related news, CEO Catherine Corrigan sold 1,707 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, August 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $66.28, for a total transaction of $113,139.96. Following the sale, 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 1.70% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Exponent Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ EXPO opened at $71.15 on Friday. Exponent, Inc. has a 1 year low of $51.91 and a 1 year high of $81.95. The stock has a market cap of $3.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.91 and a beta of 0.68. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $64.03 and a 200 day moving average of $64.48.

Exponent (NASDAQ:EXPO - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The business services provider reported $0.60 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.55 by $0.05. Exponent had a return on equity of 31.48% and a net margin of 17.67%.The company had revenue of $171.61 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $144.99 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.52 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 12.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts expect that Exponent, Inc. will post 2.31 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Exponent Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 18th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 4th will be issued a dividend of $0.31 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 4th. This represents a $1.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.7%. Exponent's dividend payout ratio is presently 55.61%.

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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