ExlService (NASDAQ:EXLS) Stock Price Expected to Rise, Needham & Company LLC Analyst Says

ExlService (NASDAQ:EXLS) had its price objective increased by investment analysts at Needham & Company LLC from $50.00 to $60.00 in a research report issued on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a “buy” rating on the business services provider’s stock. Needham & Company LLC’s price objective suggests a potential upside of 23.38% from the stock’s current price.

A number of other analysts have also weighed in on EXLS. StockNews.com upgraded ExlService from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Sunday, February 2nd. Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on ExlService from $47.00 to $57.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Finally, Robert W. Baird raised their target price on ExlService from $40.00 to $44.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $46.43.

ExlService Stock Performance

ExlService stock opened at $48.63 on Thursday. 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 fifty day moving average price of $47.98 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $43.06. ExlService has a 52-week low of $28.16 and a 52-week high of $52.43. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 42.66, a P/E/G ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 1.03.

ExlService (NASDAQ:EXLS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 25th. The business services provider reported $0.34 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.42 by ($0.08). ExlService had a return on equity of 23.23% and a net margin of 10.61%. The company had revenue of $481.43 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $475.68 million. As a group, analysts anticipate that ExlService will post 1.27 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Ajay Ayyappan sold 4,989 shares of ExlService stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.70, for a total value of $252,942.30. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 40,986 shares in the company, valued at $2,077,990.20. This trade represents a 10.85 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Maurizio Nicolelli sold 13,753 shares of ExlService stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $49.14, for a total value of $675,822.42. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 194,440 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,554,781.60. The trade was a 6.61 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 34,928 shares of company stock worth $1,762,344 over the last three months. 4.16% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On ExlService

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Mather Group LLC. bought a new position in ExlService during the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Kestra Investment Management LLC bought a new position in ExlService during the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new position in ExlService during the third quarter worth about $27,000. Huntington National Bank boosted its holdings in ExlService by 2,827.5% during the third quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 1,171 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $45,000 after buying an additional 1,131 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Morse Asset Management Inc bought a new position in ExlService during the fourth quarter worth about $49,000. Institutional investors own 92.92% of the company’s stock.

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.