Exponent, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXPO) Short Interest Update

Exponent, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXPO) saw a large increase in short interest in September. As of September 15th, there was short interest totalling 1,710,000 shares, an increase of 10.3% from the August 31st total of 1,550,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 201,400 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 8.5 days. Currently, 3.4% of the shares of the stock are sold short.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, Truist Financial restated a “buy” rating and issued a $120.00 price objective (up previously from $100.00) on shares of Exponent in a research note on Friday, July 26th.

Exponent Price Performance

Shares of EXPO traded down $2.11 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $113.17. The stock had a trading volume of 169,798 shares, compared to its average volume of 253,868. The company’s fifty day moving average is $106.40 and its two-hundred day moving average is $96.18. Exponent has a 52 week low of $64.61 and a 52 week high of $115.61. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 57.23 and a beta of 0.66.

Exponent (NASDAQ:EXPO) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The business services provider reported $0.57 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.50 by $0.07. Exponent had a net margin of 19.35% and a return on equity of 28.39%. The business had revenue of $132.43 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $130.83 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.50 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts predict that Exponent will post 2.04 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Exponent Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 6th were issued a $0.28 dividend. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.99%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, September 6th. Exponent’s payout ratio is 56.57%.

Insider Activity

In other news, VP John Pye sold 3,956 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $105.00, for a total value of $415,380.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 28,422 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,984,310. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Corporate insiders own 2.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Exponent

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in EXPO. Quarry LP bought a new stake in Exponent during the 2nd quarter worth about $25,000. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in Exponent by 67.7% during the 2nd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 379 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 153 shares during the last quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. grew its holdings in Exponent by 866.0% during the 1st quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. now owns 512 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $42,000 after acquiring an additional 459 shares during the last quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. grew its holdings in Exponent by 166.5% during the 2nd quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 517 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $49,000 after acquiring an additional 323 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Janiczek Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in Exponent by 293.7% during the 1st quarter. Janiczek Wealth Management LLC now owns 626 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $52,000 after acquiring an additional 467 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.37% of the company’s stock.

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.