LRT Capital Management LLC Increases Position in Exponent, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXPO)

LRT Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Exponent, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXPO - Free Report) by 116.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 64,556 shares of the business services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 34,770 shares during the period. Exponent makes up approximately 4.5% of LRT Capital Management LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its largest position. LRT Capital Management LLC owned 0.13% of Exponent worth $5,752,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of EXPO. Private Trust Co. NA raised its holdings in Exponent by 129.8% during the fourth quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 278 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 157 shares in the last quarter. Atala Financial Inc purchased a new position in Exponent in the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. Tortoise Investment Management LLC increased its position in shares of Exponent by 76.7% in the fourth quarter. Tortoise Investment Management LLC now owns 440 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $39,000 after buying an additional 191 shares in the last quarter. Trust Co. of Vermont purchased a new position in shares of Exponent during the 4th quarter worth approximately $45,000. Finally, Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. purchased a new position in shares of Exponent during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $50,000. 92.37% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP Richard Reiss sold 1,736 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $85.93, for a total transaction of $149,174.48. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 1,800 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $154,674. This trade represents a 49.10% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 2.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Exponent Price Performance

NASDAQ:EXPO traded up $1.49 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $79.23. The company's stock had a trading volume of 189,770 shares, compared to its average volume of 243,447. The stock has a market cap of $4.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.37 and a beta of 0.95. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $79.43 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $88.10. Exponent, Inc. has a twelve month low of $73.37 and a twelve month high of $115.75.

Exponent (NASDAQ:EXPO - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The business services provider reported $0.52 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.48 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $137.44 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $134.63 million. Exponent had a return on equity of 27.27% and a net margin of 19.52%. Exponent's quarterly revenue was up .2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.59 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Exponent, Inc. will post 1.98 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Exponent Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 6th will be issued a dividend of $0.30 per share. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.51%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 6th. Exponent's dividend payout ratio is currently 58.54%.

Exponent Profile

Exponent, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, operates as a science and engineering consulting company in the United States and internationally. The company operates in two segments, Engineering and Other Scientific, and Environmental and Health. The Engineering and Other Scientific segment provides services in the areas of biomechanics, biomedical engineering and sciences, buildings and structures, civil engineering, construction consulting, data sciences, electrical engineering and computer science, human factors, materials and corrosion engineering, mechanical engineering, polymer science and materials chemistry, thermal sciences, and vehicle engineering.