Exponent, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXPO) Short Interest Up 5.8% in June

Exponent, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXPO) was the target of a significant growth in short interest in the month of June. As of June 15th, there was short interest totalling 1,450,000 shares, a growth of 5.8% from the May 31st total of 1,370,000 shares. Approximately 2.9% of the shares of the company are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 235,900 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 6.1 days.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, Truist Financial raised their target price on Exponent from $95.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, April 29th.

Exponent Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ EXPO opened at $94.44 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $4.79 billion, a PE ratio of 47.70 and a beta of 0.65. Exponent has a fifty-two week low of $64.61 and a fifty-two week high of $102.72. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $94.79 and a 200-day moving average of $86.90.

Exponent (NASDAQ:EXPO) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The business services provider reported $0.59 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.46 by $0.13. The company had revenue of $137.21 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $125.98 million. Exponent had a return on equity of 28.13% and a net margin of 18.72%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 6.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.56 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Exponent will post 1.92 EPS for the current year.

Exponent Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 21st. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 7th were given a $0.28 dividend. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.19%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 7th. Exponent’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 56.57%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, VP Bradley A. James sold 3,528 shares of Exponent stock in a transaction on Monday, May 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $95.00, for a total transaction of $335,160.00. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 2,030 shares in the company, valued at $192,850. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other Exponent news, Director Paul R. Johnston sold 7,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $95.83, for a total value of $670,810.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 80,742 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,737,505.86. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, VP Bradley A. James sold 3,528 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, May 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $95.00, for a total value of $335,160.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 2,030 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $192,850. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 50,067 shares of company stock worth $4,734,995. 2.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Exponent

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in Exponent by 67.7% during the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 379 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $36,000 after buying an additional 153 shares in the last quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. grew its position in Exponent by 866.0% during the first quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. now owns 512 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $42,000 after buying an additional 459 shares in the last quarter. Janiczek Wealth Management LLC grew its position in Exponent by 293.7% during the first quarter. Janiczek Wealth Management LLC now owns 626 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $52,000 after buying an additional 467 shares in the last quarter. Principal Securities Inc. purchased a new position in Exponent during the fourth quarter worth about $69,000. Finally, YHB Investment Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in Exponent during the first quarter worth about $75,000. 92.37% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Exponent Company 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.