StockNews.com Upgrades ExlService (NASDAQ:EXLS) to “Buy”

ExlService (NASDAQ:EXLS) was upgraded by StockNews.com from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a note issued to investors on Wednesday.

Several other research firms have also recently commented on EXLS. Citigroup raised their target price on shares of ExlService from $38.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, October 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of ExlService from $38.00 to $41.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, September 6th. Needham & Company LLC boosted their target price on ExlService from $40.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Robert W. Baird raised their price target on ExlService from $40.00 to $44.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised ExlService from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $35.00 to $42.00 in a report on Monday, September 9th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $42.86.

ExlService Stock Performance

NASDAQ EXLS opened at $45.42 on Wednesday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $39.56 and its 200 day moving average price is $34.79. The company has a quick ratio of 3.02, a current ratio of 3.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37. The firm has a market cap of $7.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.84, a P/E/G ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 0.99. ExlService has a 52-week low of $27.27 and a 52-week high of $47.32.

ExlService (NASDAQ:EXLS) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The business services provider reported $0.44 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.41 by $0.03. ExlService had a return on equity of 23.23% and a net margin of 10.61%. The company had revenue of $472.07 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $460.73 million. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.30 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 14.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts expect that ExlService will post 1.27 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at ExlService

In other ExlService news, insider Vikas Bhalla sold 22,813 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $41.86, for a total transaction of $954,952.18. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 102,825 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,304,254.50. This trade represents a 18.16 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Rohit Kapoor sold 35,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $36.18, for a total transaction of $1,266,300.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 1,424,588 shares in the company, valued at $51,541,593.84. This represents a 2.40 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 483,483 shares of company stock valued at $20,737,537 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 4.16% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of ExlService

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in EXLS. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new position in ExlService in the 3rd quarter valued at about $27,000. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. lifted its stake in shares of ExlService by 164.0% during the second quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 924 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 574 shares during the period. New Covenant Trust Company N.A. purchased a new stake in ExlService in the 1st quarter worth approximately $30,000. Huntington National Bank raised its holdings in ExlService by 2,827.5% in the 3rd quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 1,171 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $45,000 after acquiring an additional 1,131 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Headlands Technologies LLC lifted its stake in shares of ExlService by 269.0% during the 1st quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC now owns 1,594 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $51,000 after purchasing an additional 1,162 shares during the period. 92.92% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

ExlService Company Profile

ExlService Holdings, Inc operates as a data analytics, and digital operations and solutions company in the United States and internationally. The company operates through Insurance, Healthcare, Analytics, and Emerging Business segments. It also provides digital operations and solutions and analytics-driven services, such as claims processing, premium and benefit administration, agency management, account reconciliation, policy research, underwriting support, new business acquisition, policy servicing, premium audit, surveys, billing and collection, commercial and residential survey, and customer service using digital technology, artificial intelligence, machine learning, and advanced automation; digital customer acquisition services using a software-as-a-service delivery model through LifePRO and LISS platforms; subrogation services; and Subrosource software platform, an end-to-end subrogation platform.