Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. Takes $1.12 Million Position in Exponent, Inc. $EXPO

Key Points

• Oppenheimer Asset Management acquired 19,136 shares of Exponent worth approximately $1.12 million, while institutional investors collectively own 92.37% of the company.
• Exponent exceeded quarterly expectations, reporting $0.60 EPS versus a $0.55 consensus estimate and $171.61 million in revenue, up 12% year over year.
• Analysts maintain a “Moderate Buy” consensus with an average price target of $81, while Exponent declared a quarterly dividend of $0.31 per share, yielding about 1.8%.

Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. acquired a new position in Exponent, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXPO - Free Report) during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund acquired 19,136 shares of the business services provider's stock, valued at approximately $1,124,000.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. United Services Automobile Association acquired a new position in Exponent during the first quarter worth about $270,000. Jane Street Group LLC lifted its holdings in Exponent by 1,481.0% in the 1st quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 127,222 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $10,313,000 after acquiring an additional 119,175 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. lifted its holdings in Exponent by 3.3% in the 2nd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 554,733 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $41,444,000 after acquiring an additional 17,930 shares during the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP bought a new position in shares of Exponent during the 2nd quarter valued at about $18,377,000. Finally, Walleye Capital LLC boosted its position in shares of Exponent by 7.5% during the 2nd quarter. Walleye Capital LLC now owns 6,623 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $495,000 after purchasing an additional 464 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.37% of the company's stock.

Exponent Price Performance

EXPO stock opened at $67.10 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.09 and a beta of 0.68. Exponent, Inc. has a 52-week low of $51.91 and a 52-week high of $81.95. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $61.79 and its 200-day simple moving average is $64.69.

Exponent (NASDAQ:EXPO - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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. 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 quarterly revenue was up 12.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.52 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Exponent, Inc. will post 2.31 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Exponent Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 18th. Investors of record on Friday, September 4th will be given a dividend of $0.31 per share. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 4th. Exponent's payout ratio is presently 55.61%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

Insider Activity

In other Exponent news, CEO Catherine Corrigan sold 4,119 shares of Exponent stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $57.13, for a total transaction of $235,318.47. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 106,670 shares of the company's stock, valued at $6,094,057.10. The trade was a 3.72% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, VP Bradley A. James sold 2,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $57.47, for a total value of $114,940.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president owned 1,105 shares in the company, valued at $63,504.35. This represents a 64.41% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 1.70% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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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