StockNews.com Downgrades ExlService (NASDAQ:EXLS) to Hold

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

Several other equities research analysts also recently commented on the stock. Needham & Company LLC lifted their price objective on shares of ExlService from $40.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on ExlService from $40.00 to $44.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, Citigroup raised their price objective on ExlService from $38.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, October 14th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $42.86.

ExlService Stock Down 0.4 %

ExlService stock opened at $45.11 on Thursday. ExlService has a 1-year low of $28.16 and a 1-year high of $47.37. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $45.31 and a 200-day moving average price of $39.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37, a current ratio of 3.02 and a quick ratio of 3.02. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.57, a PEG ratio of 2.23 and a beta of 1.01.

ExlService (NASDAQ:EXLS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The business services provider reported $0.44 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.41 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $472.07 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $460.73 million. ExlService had a return on equity of 23.23% and a net margin of 10.61%. The company’s revenue was up 14.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.30 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that ExlService will post 1.27 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Rohit Kapoor sold 100,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $42.07, for a total transaction of $4,207,000.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,190,240 shares in the company, valued at $50,073,396.80. This trade represents a 7.75 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Vikas Bhalla sold 22,813 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $41.86, for a total value of $954,952.18. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 102,825 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,304,254.50. The trade was a 18.16 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 426,458 shares of company stock worth $18,720,514. Corporate insiders own 4.16% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On ExlService

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new position in shares of ExlService during the 3rd quarter worth about $27,000. Huntington National Bank raised its holdings in shares of ExlService by 2,827.5% during the third 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. UMB Bank n.a. lifted its position in shares of ExlService by 29.7% in the third quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 1,638 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $62,000 after acquiring an additional 375 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in shares of ExlService by 32.8% in the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,331 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $89,000 after acquiring an additional 576 shares during the last quarter. Finally, First Horizon Advisors Inc. increased its position in shares of ExlService by 25.5% during the third quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 2,576 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $98,000 after purchasing an additional 524 shares in the last quarter. 92.92% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About ExlService

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.