Teacher Retirement System of Texas Purchases 17,162 Shares of Exponent, Inc. $EXPO

Key Points

• Teacher Retirement System of Texas increased its stake in Exponent by 18.8%, buying 17,162 shares to hold 108,567 shares (about 0.22% of the company) valued at roughly $7.54M.
• Quarterly results beat expectations: Exponent reported $0.49 EPS vs. $0.47 estimate and revenue of $147.43M (up 4.5% YoY), and analysts carry a consensus "Moderate Buy" with a $90 price target.
• Exponent raised its quarterly dividend to $0.31 (from $0.30), implying a $1.24 annual payout and a 1.9% yield, while insiders sold 15,741 shares worth about $1.10M in the last quarter.

Teacher Retirement System of Texas increased its position in Exponent, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXPO - Free Report) by 18.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 108,567 shares of the business services provider's stock after buying an additional 17,162 shares during the quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas owned 0.22% of Exponent worth $7,541,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of EXPO. United Services Automobile Association bought a new stake in Exponent in the 1st quarter worth approximately $270,000. Jane Street Group LLC lifted its position 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 worth $10,313,000 after buying an additional 119,175 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. lifted its position in Exponent by 3.3% in the 2nd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 554,733 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $41,444,000 after buying an additional 17,930 shares during the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP bought a new stake in Exponent in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $18,377,000. Finally, Walleye Capital LLC lifted its position in Exponent by 7.5% in the 2nd quarter. Walleye Capital LLC now owns 6,623 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $495,000 after buying an additional 464 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.37% of the company's stock.

Exponent Stock Performance

Shares of EXPO stock opened at $65.88 on Friday. Exponent, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $63.25 and a fifty-two week high of $81.95. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $68.15 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $70.29. The company has a market capitalization of $3.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.67 and a beta of 0.80.

Exponent (NASDAQ:EXPO - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 5th. The business services provider reported $0.49 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.47 by $0.02. Exponent had a return on equity of 25.51% and a net margin of 18.21%.The firm had revenue of $147.43 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $128.48 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.46 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 4.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts predict that Exponent, Inc. will post 2.27 earnings per share for the current year.

Exponent Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 6th were given a $0.31 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 6th. This is an increase from Exponent's previous quarterly dividend of $0.30. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.9%. Exponent's dividend payout ratio is presently 59.62%.

Insider Activity at Exponent

In other Exponent news, VP John Pye sold 4,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $75.97, for a total value of $303,880.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president owned 25,204 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,914,747.88. The trade was a 13.70% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Catherine Corrigan sold 3,909 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $67.70, for a total value of $264,639.30. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 103,676 shares of the company's stock, valued at $7,018,865.20. The trade was a 3.63% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold 15,741 shares of company stock valued at $1,095,768 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 1.60% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

EXPO has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Weiss Ratings restated a "hold (c-)" rating on shares of Exponent in a research report on Tuesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on Exponent from $100.00 to $95.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, March 26th. Finally, UBS Group restated a "neutral" rating and issued a $85.00 target price on shares of Exponent in a research report on Monday, February 9th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Exponent currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $90.00.

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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