Freestone Grove Partners LP Takes $2.08 Million Position in Exponent, Inc. $EXPO

Key Points

• Freestone Grove Partners acquired 35,346 Exponent shares worth approximately $2.08 million, while institutional investors collectively owned 92.37% of the company.
• Exponent exceeded quarterly expectations, reporting $0.60 EPS versus the $0.55 consensus and $171.61 million in revenue, up 12% year over year. Analysts hold a “Moderate Buy” consensus with an average price target of $81.
• Exponent declared a quarterly dividend of $0.31 per share, equivalent to $1.24 annually and a 1.7% yield; CEO Catherine Corrigan separately sold 1,707 shares under a Rule 10b5-1 plan.

Freestone Grove Partners LP acquired a new stake in Exponent, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXPO - Free Report) in the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund acquired 35,346 shares of the business services provider's stock, valued at approximately $2,077,000. Freestone Grove Partners LP owned approximately 0.07% of Exponent at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in EXPO. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new stake in Exponent in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $363,428,000. Conestoga Capital Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of 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 in the last quarter. Morgan Stanley increased its holdings in shares of Exponent by 3.6% in the fourth 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. First Trust Advisors LP increased its holdings in shares of Exponent by 7.4% in the first quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 964,814 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $62,954,000 after purchasing an additional 66,471 shares during the period. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position in shares of Exponent by 2.3% in the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 918,885 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $59,958,000 after buying an additional 20,270 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.37% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Exponent

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

EXPO has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Exponent from $80.00 to $90.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "hold (c-)" rating on shares of Exponent in a research note on Friday, July 17th. Finally, UBS Group set a $72.00 target price on shares of Exponent and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Exponent currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $81.00.

Exponent Price Performance

Shares of EXPO stock opened at $71.53 on Friday. The business has a 50-day moving average of $64.33 and a 200 day moving average of $64.53. Exponent, Inc. has a 1-year low of $51.91 and a 1-year high of $81.95. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.40 billion, a PE ratio of 32.08 and a beta of 0.68.

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

Exponent Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced 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. This represents a $1.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.7%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 4th. Exponent's payout ratio is 55.61%.

Exponent 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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