Dark Forest Capital Management LP Makes New $281,000 Investment in Exponent, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXPO)

Dark Forest Capital Management LP acquired a new stake in Exponent, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXPO) during the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 2,950 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $281,000.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in Exponent by 67.7% in the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 379 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $36,000 after buying an additional 153 shares in the last quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. lifted its stake 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 purchasing an additional 459 shares during the last quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. lifted its stake in Exponent by 166.5% during the second quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 517 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $49,000 after purchasing an additional 323 shares during the last quarter. Janiczek Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in Exponent by 293.7% in the first quarter. Janiczek Wealth Management LLC now owns 626 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $52,000 after purchasing an additional 467 shares in the last quarter. Finally, YHB Investment Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in Exponent in the first quarter valued at approximately $75,000. 92.37% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Exponent Stock Performance

Shares of EXPO stock opened at $113.25 on Monday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $106.22 and its two-hundred day moving average is $95.92. Exponent, Inc. has a 1 year low of $64.61 and a 1 year high of $114.67. The firm has a market cap of $5.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 57.20 and a beta of 0.66.

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

Exponent Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 6th were given a dividend of $0.28 per share. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.99%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, September 6th. Exponent’s payout ratio is currently 56.57%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Exponent

In other news, VP John Pye sold 3,956 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $105.00, for a total transaction of $415,380.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 28,422 shares in the company, valued at $2,984,310. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 2.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

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.