ExlService (NASDAQ:EXLS) Sets New 12-Month High – Time to Buy?

Shares of ExlService Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXLS) hit a new 52-week high on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $50.27 and last traded at $50.42, with a volume of 154844 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $49.54.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

EXLS has been the subject of a number of research reports. Needham & Company LLC upped their target price on shares of ExlService from $40.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on shares of ExlService from $47.00 to $57.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Citigroup upped their price target on ExlService from $38.00 to $46.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, October 14th. Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on ExlService from $40.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded ExlService from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $45.00.

ExlService Price Performance

The company has a market cap of $8.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 44.14, a PEG ratio of 2.08 and a beta of 1.02. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $46.01 and its 200 day simple moving average is $40.59. The company has a quick ratio of 3.02, a current ratio of 3.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37.

ExlService (NASDAQ:EXLS) last posted 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 net margin of 10.61% and a return on equity of 23.23%. The firm had revenue of $472.07 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $460.73 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.30 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 14.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that ExlService Holdings, Inc. will post 1.27 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other ExlService news, insider Vikas Bhalla sold 22,813 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $41.86, for a total transaction of $954,952.18. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 102,825 shares in the company, valued at $4,304,254.50. This represents a 18.16 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Rohit Kapoor sold 100,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $46.87, for a total transaction of $4,687,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 689,645 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $32,323,661.15. This trade represents a 12.66 % 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 valued at $18,720,514. Corporate insiders own 4.16% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of ExlService

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of EXLS. State Street Corp increased its holdings in ExlService by 1.0% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 5,837,311 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $222,693,000 after purchasing an additional 59,196 shares during the period. Geneva Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of ExlService by 1.9% during the third quarter. Geneva Capital Management LLC now owns 4,694,414 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $179,092,000 after buying an additional 87,592 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of ExlService by 3.6% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,326,511 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $165,083,000 after buying an additional 149,856 shares during the period. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans raised its holdings in ExlService by 0.8% in the third quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 2,747,332 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $104,810,000 after acquiring an additional 21,358 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in ExlService by 0.5% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,161,153 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $82,448,000 after acquiring an additional 9,775 shares during the last quarter. 92.92% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.