Short Interest in Exponent, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXPO) Expands By 10.3%

Exponent, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXPO) was the target of 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. Approximately 3.4% of the shares of the company are sold short. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 201,400 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 8.5 days.

Exponent Price Performance

NASDAQ:EXPO traded down $2.11 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $113.17. 169,798 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 253,868. Exponent has a 1-year low of $64.61 and a 1-year high of $115.61. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $106.54 and its 200-day moving average is $96.42. The stock has a market cap of $5.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 57.16 and a beta of 0.66.

Exponent (NASDAQ:EXPO) last issued 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. The business had revenue of $132.43 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $130.83 million. Exponent had a return on equity of 28.39% and a net margin of 19.35%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.50 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that Exponent will post 2.04 earnings per share for the current year.

Exponent Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 6th were given a $0.28 dividend. 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 dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 56.57%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

Insider Transactions at Exponent

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

Institutional Trading of Exponent

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. UBS Group AG boosted its stake in Exponent by 41.4% in the fourth quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 76,565 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $6,741,000 after acquiring an additional 22,410 shares during the period. US Bancorp DE increased its stake in shares of Exponent by 3.2% in the fourth quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 17,561 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,547,000 after acquiring an additional 549 shares during the last quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Exponent by 12.4% in the fourth quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 1,941 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $171,000 after acquiring an additional 214 shares during the last quarter. Focus Financial Network Inc. ADV acquired a new position in Exponent during the fourth quarter worth $219,000. Finally, TFO Wealth Partners LLC increased its position in Exponent by 14,975.0% during the fourth quarter. TFO Wealth Partners LLC now owns 1,809 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $159,000 after buying an additional 1,797 shares during the last quarter. 92.37% of the stock is 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.