ExlService (NASDAQ:EXLS) Sets New 52-Week High – Still a Buy?

ExlService Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXLS)’s stock price hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $47.37 and last traded at $46.50, with a volume of 120336 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $47.02.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on EXLS shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on ExlService from $38.00 to $41.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, September 6th. StockNews.com upgraded ExlService from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. Jefferies Financial Group raised ExlService from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $35.00 to $42.00 in a research note on Monday, September 9th. Needham & Company LLC raised their price target on ExlService from $40.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, Citigroup boosted their price objective on ExlService from $38.00 to $46.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, October 14th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, ExlService presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $42.86.

ExlService Price Performance

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 company has a market capitalization of $7.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 41.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 0.99. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $41.06 and its 200-day moving average is $35.73.

ExlService (NASDAQ:EXLS) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The business services provider reported $0.44 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.41 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $472.07 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $460.73 million. ExlService had a net margin of 10.61% and a return on equity of 23.23%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 14.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.30 EPS. Analysts predict that ExlService Holdings, Inc. will post 1.27 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at ExlService

In other ExlService news, Director Jaynie M. Studenmund sold 3,645 shares of ExlService stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $44.05, for a total value of $160,562.25. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 14,580 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $642,249. The trade was a 20.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Rohit Kapoor sold 35,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 1,424,588 shares in the company, valued at approximately $51,541,593.84. This trade represents a 2.40 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 461,458 shares of company stock valued at $19,986,814. Insiders own 4.16% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of ExlService

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Chartwell Investment Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of ExlService by 0.8% in the third quarter. Chartwell Investment Partners LLC now owns 31,353 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,196,000 after acquiring an additional 254 shares in the last quarter. Azzad Asset Management Inc. ADV lifted its holdings in ExlService by 1.1% in the 3rd quarter. Azzad Asset Management Inc. ADV now owns 24,757 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $944,000 after purchasing an additional 261 shares in the last quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV boosted its stake in ExlService by 3.4% during the 2nd quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 8,897 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $279,000 after purchasing an additional 291 shares during the last quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of ExlService by 5.2% during the second quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 7,123 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $223,000 after buying an additional 349 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Quantinno Capital Management LP lifted its stake in shares of ExlService by 2.3% in the third quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 15,658 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $597,000 after buying an additional 359 shares in the last quarter. 92.92% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.