Corient Private Wealth LP Trims Stake in Exponent, Inc. $EXPO

Key Points

• Corient Private Wealth cut its Exponent stake by 81.2% in the second quarter, selling 19,282 shares and retaining 4,463 shares valued at approximately $262,000. Institutional investors collectively own 92.37% of EXPO.
• Exponent reported stronger-than-expected quarterly results, with earnings of $0.60 per share and revenue of $171.61 million, up 12% year over year. The company also maintains a quarterly dividend of $0.31 per share, equivalent to a 1.8% annual yield.
• Analyst sentiment remains positive, with a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an average price target of $81, compared with the stock’s opening price of $67.30.

Corient Private Wealth LP lessened its holdings in Exponent, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXPO - Free Report) by 81.2% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 4,463 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 19,282 shares during the quarter. Corient Private Wealth LP's holdings in Exponent were worth $262,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in EXPO. Nykredit A S bought a new position in shares of Exponent in the 2nd quarter worth about $202,000. Susquehanna International Group LLP boosted its stake in Exponent by 42.9% in the second quarter. Susquehanna International Group LLP now owns 75,694 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $4,448,000 after acquiring an additional 22,733 shares during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its holdings in shares of Exponent by 160.5% during the second quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 271,842 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $15,973,000 after purchasing an additional 167,484 shares during the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC bought a new position in shares of Exponent during the second quarter valued at approximately $558,000. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Exponent during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $3,928,000. Institutional investors own 92.37% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Catherine Corrigan sold 1,707 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $66.28, for a total value of $113,139.96. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 129,108 shares of the company's stock, valued at $8,557,278.24. This represents a 1.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 1.70% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently issued reports on EXPO shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Exponent from $80.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, July 31st. UBS Group set a $72.00 target price on Exponent and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a "hold (c-)" rating on shares of Exponent in a research note on Friday, July 17th. Two 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, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $81.00.

Exponent Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ EXPO opened at $67.30 on Monday. Exponent, Inc. has a 12-month low of $51.91 and a 12-month high of $81.95. The company has a market cap of $3.20 billion, a PE ratio of 30.18 and a beta of 0.69. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $67.70 and a 200-day simple moving average of $63.88.

Exponent (NASDAQ:EXPO - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The business services provider reported $0.60 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 firm had revenue of $171.61 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $144.99 million. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.52 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 12.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts forecast that Exponent, Inc. will post 2.31 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Exponent Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 18th. Investors of record on Friday, September 4th were paid a dividend of $0.31 per share. This represents a $1.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, September 4th. Exponent's payout ratio is currently 55.61%.

About Exponent

Exponent, Inc is an engineering and scientific consulting company that helps clients investigate complex technical issues, manage risk, and improve the safety and performance of products, systems, and structures. Its multidisciplinary consulting services support legal, insurance, industrial, government, and other organizational clients.

The company's services include failure analysis, accident reconstruction, product safety and testing, materials and corrosion analysis, environmental and human health assessments, biomechanics, human factors, electrical and electronic systems analysis, civil and structural engineering, and data sciences.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.