Quantinno Capital Management LP Acquires 19,528 Shares of Exponent, Inc. $EXPO

Key Points

• Quantinno Capital Management more than doubled its Exponent stake in the first quarter, acquiring 19,528 additional shares for a total holding worth approximately $2.4 million. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.37% of the company.
• Exponent reported quarterly earnings of $0.60 per share, exceeding estimates by $0.05, while revenue rose 12% year over year to $171.61 million. The company also declared a quarterly dividend of $0.31 per share, representing a 1.8% yield.
• Analyst sentiment remains positive, with a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an $81 price target; JPMorgan raised its target to $90, while UBS assigned a neutral rating with a $72 target.

Quantinno Capital Management LP grew its stake in Exponent, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXPO - Free Report) by 114.3% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 36,614 shares of the business services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 19,528 shares during the period. Quantinno Capital Management LP owned approximately 0.08% of Exponent worth $2,389,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. Bell Investment Advisors Inc grew its position in Exponent by 423.6% in the first quarter. Bell Investment Advisors Inc now owns 377 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 305 shares during the period. Allworth Financial LP boosted its stake in shares of Exponent by 86.1% in the 4th quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 469 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 217 shares in the last quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Exponent by 37.1% in the 1st quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 717 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $47,000 after purchasing an additional 194 shares in the last quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Exponent by 129.0% in the 4th quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 907 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $63,000 after purchasing an additional 511 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UMB Bank n.a. grew its holdings in shares of Exponent by 54.8% in the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 904 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $63,000 after purchasing an additional 320 shares during the last quarter. 92.37% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Exponent Stock Performance

NASDAQ:EXPO opened at $67.52 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $3.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.28 and a beta of 0.68. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $61.08 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $64.90. Exponent, Inc. has a 52-week low of $51.91 and a 52-week high of $81.95.

Exponent (NASDAQ:EXPO - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The business services provider reported $0.60 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $144.99 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.52 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 12.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts predict that Exponent, Inc. will post 2.31 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Exponent Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 18th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 4th will be issued 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 currently 55.61%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Exponent

In related news, CEO Catherine Corrigan sold 4,194 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $54.06, for a total transaction of $226,727.64. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 105,218 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,688,085.08. The trade was a 3.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, VP Joseph Rakow sold 2,945 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $54.66, for a total transaction of $160,973.70. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 15,324 shares of company stock valued at $855,019. 1.70% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

About Exponent

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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