Exponent, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXPO) Announces Quarterly Dividend of $0.31

Exponent, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXPO) announced a quarterly dividend on Thursday, July 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 4th will be paid a dividend of 0.31 per share by the business services provider on Friday, September 18th. This represents a c) dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.9%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 4th.

Exponent has raised its dividend payment by an average of 0.1%annually over the last three years and has raised its dividend annually for the last 12 consecutive years. Exponent has a payout ratio of 57.9% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Research analysts expect Exponent to earn $2.58 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $1.24 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 48.1%.

Exponent Stock Down 1.9%

Shares of Exponent stock opened at $64.57 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $3.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.03 and a beta of 0.72. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $59.82 and its 200-day simple moving average is $65.22. Exponent has a 52 week low of $51.91 and a 52 week high of $81.95.

Exponent (NASDAQ:EXPO) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The business services provider reported $0.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.55 by $0.05. Exponent had a return on equity of 27.94% and a net margin of 18.07%.The company had revenue of $171.61 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $144.99 million. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.52 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 12.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts expect that Exponent will post 2.28 earnings per share for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. UBS Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $75.00 target price on shares of Exponent in a research note on Tuesday, June 2nd. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Exponent in a research note on Friday, July 17th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on Exponent from $95.00 to $80.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 15th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Exponent currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $77.50.

Exponent Company Profile

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.