Jupiter Topco LLC Takes Position in Exponent, Inc. $EXPO

Key Points

• Jupiter Topco LLC bought 22,275 shares of Exponent during the second quarter, valued at approximately $1.31 million. Institutional investors collectively own 92.37% of the company.
• Exponent reported strong quarterly results, with EPS of $0.60 versus the $0.55 consensus estimate and revenue of $171.61 million, up 12% year over year. The company also declared a quarterly dividend of $0.31 per share.
• Analyst sentiment is moderately positive, with a consensus price target of $81.00; JPMorgan raised its target to $90 and assigned an “overweight” rating, while UBS maintained a neutral view at $72.

Jupiter Topco LLC bought a new stake in Exponent, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXPO - Free Report) in the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 22,275 shares of the business services provider's stock, valued at approximately $1,309,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. lifted its stake in Exponent by 87,479.8% during the fourth quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 230,335 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $15,999,000 after purchasing an additional 230,072 shares during the period. UBS Group AG grew its stake in shares of Exponent by 29.7% in the 4th quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 176,404 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $12,253,000 after purchasing an additional 40,359 shares during the period. Quantinno Capital Management LP grew its stake in shares of Exponent by 114.3% in the 1st quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 36,614 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $2,389,000 after purchasing an additional 19,528 shares during the period. Royce & Associates LP grew its stake in shares of Exponent by 73.8% in the 4th quarter. Royce & Associates LP now owns 652,109 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $45,295,000 after purchasing an additional 276,889 shares during the period. Finally, New Age Alpha Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Exponent by 785.8% in the 4th quarter. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC now owns 24,775 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $1,721,000 after buying an additional 21,978 shares in the last quarter. 92.37% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Catherine Corrigan sold 1,707 shares of the 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 129,108 shares in the company, valued at $8,557,278.24. This represents a 1.30% decrease in their position. 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 owned by company insiders.

Exponent Stock Performance

EXPO opened at $68.35 on Friday. The firm's fifty day moving average is $65.52 and its two-hundred day moving average is $64.46. The firm has a market cap of $3.25 billion, a PE ratio of 30.65 and a beta of 0.68. Exponent, Inc. has a twelve month low of $51.91 and a twelve month high of $81.95.

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

Exponent Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 18th. Investors of record on Friday, September 4th will be given a $0.31 dividend. This represents a $1.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 4th. Exponent's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 55.61%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

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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