Exponent (NASDAQ:EXPO) Reaches New 1-Year High Following Strong Earnings

Shares of Exponent, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXPO - Get Free Report) reached a new 52-week high during trading on Friday following a stronger than expected earnings report. The stock traded as high as $102.52 and last traded at $101.87, with a volume of 235195 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $79.68.

The business services provider reported $0.59 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.46 by $0.13. The company had revenue of $137.21 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $125.98 million. Exponent had a return on equity of 28.49% and a net margin of 18.69%. Exponent's quarterly revenue was up 6.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.56 earnings per share.

Exponent Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 22nd. Investors of record on Friday, March 8th were given a dividend of $0.28 per share. This is a boost from Exponent's previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 7th. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.18%. Exponent's payout ratio is presently 57.44%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently issued reports on EXPO shares. Truist Financial cut their target price on Exponent from $110.00 to $95.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 2nd. StockNews.com raised Exponent from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, March 4th.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Eric Guyer sold 3,367 shares of Exponent stock in a transaction on Friday, February 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $78.49, for a total transaction of $264,275.83. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 2.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Exponent

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. YHB Investment Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Exponent during the 1st quarter valued at $75,000. Mitchell & Pahl Private Wealth LLC raised its stake in Exponent by 16.0% in the 1st quarter. Mitchell & Pahl Private Wealth LLC now owns 5,714 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $473,000 after acquiring an additional 789 shares during the period. New York State Teachers Retirement System lifted its holdings in Exponent by 0.7% during the first quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System now owns 41,081 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $3,397,000 after purchasing an additional 300 shares during the last quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System boosted its position in Exponent by 2.8% during the first quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System now owns 14,600 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $1,207,000 after purchasing an additional 400 shares during the period. Finally, Fifth Third Bancorp increased its stake in shares of Exponent by 163.7% in the first quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 5,070 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $419,000 after purchasing an additional 3,147 shares in the last quarter. 92.37% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Exponent Stock Up 19.5 %

The company has a market cap of $4.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 48.83 and a beta of 0.68. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $79.93 and its 200-day moving average price is $81.94.

About Exponent

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.