Conestoga Capital Advisors LLC Lowers Stock Holdings in Exponent, Inc. $EXPO

by · The Markets Daily

Conestoga Capital Advisors LLC trimmed its position in shares of Exponent, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXPO – Free Report) by 20.3% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,906,505 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 485,994 shares during the quarter. Exponent accounts for approximately 2.5% of Conestoga Capital Advisors LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 17th biggest position. Conestoga Capital Advisors LLC’s holdings in Exponent were worth $124,399,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the business. MQS Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Exponent in the first quarter valued at approximately $215,000. Inspire Investing LLC increased its stake in Exponent by 17.7% during the 1st quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 7,896 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $515,000 after buying an additional 1,187 shares during the period. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC lifted its holdings in Exponent by 5.1% during the 1st quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 38,791 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $2,531,000 after buying an additional 1,866 shares in the last quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System purchased a new position in Exponent in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $946,000. Finally, Bell Investment Advisors Inc boosted its position in Exponent by 423.6% in the 1st quarter. Bell Investment Advisors Inc now owns 377 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 305 shares during the period. 92.37% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Catherine Corrigan sold 4,119 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $57.13, for a total value of $235,318.47. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 106,670 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,094,057.10. This represents a 3.72% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, VP Bradley A. James sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $57.47, for a total transaction of $114,940.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president owned 1,105 shares in the company, valued at $63,504.35. This represents a 64.41% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 19,233 shares of company stock worth $1,119,659 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

Exponent Trading Up 2.0%

Exponent stock opened at $59.94 on Thursday. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $59.60 and a 200-day simple moving average of $66.72. The stock has a market cap of $2.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.88 and a beta of 0.72. Exponent, Inc. has a 12-month low of $51.91 and a 12-month high of $81.95.

Exponent (NASDAQ:EXPO – Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The business services provider reported $0.59 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.56 by $0.03. Exponent had a return on equity of 27.94% and a net margin of 18.07%.The company had revenue of $166.30 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $149.53 million. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.52 earnings per share. Exponent’s quarterly revenue was up 14.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Exponent, Inc. will post 2.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Exponent Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 18th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 5th were issued a $0.31 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 5th. This represents a $1.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.1%. Exponent’s dividend payout ratio is presently 57.67%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

EXPO has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. UBS Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $75.00 price target on shares of Exponent in a research report on Tuesday, June 2nd. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Exponent in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on shares of Exponent from $95.00 to $80.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 15th. 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 data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $77.50.

View Our Latest Stock Report on EXPO

About Exponent

(Free Report)

Exponent, Inc (NASDAQ: EXPO) is an engineering and scientific consulting firm that offers multidisciplinary analysis and advisory services to clients across a range of industries. The company’s expertise spans mechanical, materials and corrosion engineering, civil and structural engineering, electrical engineering, industrial hygiene, toxicology and health sciences, and failure analysis. Exponent provides support for product design, performance evaluation, litigation consulting, and regulatory compliance, helping manufacturers, insurers, law firms and government agencies address complex technical challenges.

Founded in 1967 in Menlo Park, California, Exponent has grown from a small failure-analysis laboratory into a global consulting practice.

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