Exponent, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXPO) Short Interest Up 8.0% in November

Exponent, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXPO) was the target of a significant growth in short interest during the month of November. As of November 15th, there was short interest totalling 1,490,000 shares, a growth of 8.0% from the October 31st total of 1,380,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 207,100 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 7.2 days. Currently, 3.0% of the shares of the company are short sold.

Exponent Stock Performance

Exponent stock traded down $0.59 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $98.07. The stock had a trading volume of 395,050 shares, compared to its average volume of 243,473. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.98 billion, a PE ratio of 47.38 and a beta of 0.70. Exponent has a twelve month low of $68.70 and a twelve month high of $115.75. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $104.73 and its 200 day simple moving average is $102.38.

Exponent Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 20th. Investors of record on Friday, December 6th will be issued a dividend of $0.28 per share. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.14%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 6th. Exponent’s payout ratio is 54.11%.

Insider Transactions at Exponent

In other news, Director Paul R. Johnston sold 14,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $104.60, for a total transaction of $1,464,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 80,742 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,445,613.20. This trade represents a 14.78 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Carol Lindstrom sold 1,039 shares of Exponent stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $96.32, for a total value of $100,076.48. Following the sale, the director now owns 5,871 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $565,494.72. This represents a 15.04 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 30,339 shares of company stock worth $3,103,065 over the last 90 days. 2.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in EXPO. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Exponent by 6.5% in the second quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC now owns 4,640,600 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $441,414,000 after buying an additional 284,179 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. acquired a new stake in shares of Exponent in the 2nd quarter valued at $22,050,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Exponent during the 3rd quarter worth about $11,261,000. Conestoga Capital Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Exponent by 2.8% during the second quarter. Conestoga Capital Advisors LLC now owns 2,763,260 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $262,841,000 after purchasing an additional 75,909 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Exponent by 4.8% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,505,652 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $173,597,000 after acquiring an additional 69,099 shares during the period. 92.37% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.