Exponent (NASDAQ:EXPO) Stock Breaks Above Two Hundred Day Moving Average - Time to Sell?

Key Points

• Exponent shares rose above their 200-day moving average, reaching $73.82 and recently trading at $72.55 versus the $64.33 average.
• Analyst sentiment is moderately positive: Exponent has a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an $81.00 target price, including JPMorgan’s upgraded $90 target.
• The company reported better-than-expected quarterly results, with $0.60 EPS and $171.61 million in revenue, while maintaining a quarterly dividend of $0.31 per share.

Exponent, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXPO - Get Free Report) shares passed above its 200-day moving average during trading on Tuesday. The stock has a 200-day moving average of $64.33 and traded as high as $73.82. Exponent shares last traded at $72.55, with a volume of 787,421 shares trading hands.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have weighed in on EXPO. UBS Group set a $72.00 price objective on Exponent and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, July 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Exponent from $80.00 to $90.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised Exponent from a "hold (c-)" rating to a "hold (c)" rating in a research report on Friday, October 9th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Exponent currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $81.00.

Exponent Trading Up 0.4%

The stock has a market capitalization of $3.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.53 and a beta of 0.69. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $68.73 and its 200 day simple moving average is $64.33.

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 the consensus estimate of $0.55 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $171.61 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $144.99 million. Exponent had a net margin of 17.67% and a return on equity of 31.48%. The company's revenue was up 12.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.52 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Exponent, Inc. will post 2.31 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Exponent Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 18th. Investors of record on Friday, September 4th were paid a $0.31 dividend. This represents a $1.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.7%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, September 4th. Exponent's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 55.61%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Catherine Corrigan sold 1,707 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $66.28, for a total value of $113,139.96. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 129,108 shares of the company's stock, valued at $8,557,278.24. The trade was a 1.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 1.70% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of EXPO. Capstone Investment Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Exponent during the 2nd quarter valued at about $3,065,000. Bank of America Corp DE acquired a new stake in Exponent during the second quarter worth about $29,270,000. Jupiter Topco LLC bought a new position in Exponent in the second quarter worth about $1,309,000. Quantinno Capital Management LP lifted its holdings in Exponent by 114.3% in the first quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 36,614 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $2,389,000 after acquiring an additional 19,528 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Man Group plc acquired a new position in Exponent in the second quarter valued at approximately $9,414,000. Institutional investors own 92.37% of the company's stock.

About Exponent

Exponent, Inc is a science and engineering consulting company that helps clients investigate complex technical issues, manage risks, and develop solutions. Its consultants work across disciplines including engineering, materials science, biomechanics, human factors, environmental science, health, data sciences, and economics.

The company provides failure analysis, product safety and testing, accident reconstruction, environmental and health assessments, regulatory support, and expert testimony.

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