ExlService (NASDAQ:EXLS) Rating Increased to Outperform at Wedbush

ExlService (NASDAQ:EXLS) was upgraded by investment analysts at Wedbush from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research note issued on Wednesday, Marketbeat.com reports. The firm presently has a $40.00 price target on the business services provider’s stock, up from their prior price target of $34.00. Wedbush’s price target points to a potential upside of 30.29% from the company’s previous close.

A number of other equities research analysts have also recently commented on the company. StockNews.com cut ExlService from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 29th. TD Cowen increased their price objective on shares of ExlService from $36.00 to $37.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 2nd. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $40.00 target price on shares of ExlService in a report on Friday, May 3rd. Finally, Citigroup cut their price target on shares of ExlService from $38.00 to $37.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 22nd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $37.00.

ExlService Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ EXLS opened at $30.70 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a current ratio of 2.54 and a quick ratio of 2.54. ExlService has a 1 year low of $25.17 and a 1 year high of $33.40. The company’s 50-day moving average is $30.54 and its 200 day moving average is $29.88. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.37, a P/E/G ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 1.00.

ExlService (NASDAQ:EXLS) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 29th. The business services provider reported $0.26 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.27 by ($0.01). ExlService had a return on equity of 23.13% and a net margin of 10.92%. The business had revenue of $414.06 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $408.56 million. On average, sell-side analysts expect that ExlService will post 1.3 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Vikas Bhalla sold 23,760 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $31.51, for a total value of $748,677.60. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 127,046 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,003,219.46. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other ExlService news, EVP Ajay Ayyappan sold 9,259 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $31.59, for a total transaction of $292,491.81. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 50,693 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,601,391.87. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Vikas Bhalla sold 23,760 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $31.51, for a total transaction of $748,677.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 127,046 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,003,219.46. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 3.75% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On ExlService

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in EXLS. Raymond James & Associates boosted its stake in ExlService by 420.3% during the third quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 386,235 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $10,830,000 after buying an additional 312,006 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in shares of ExlService by 347.0% in the third quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. now owns 8,595 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $241,000 after purchasing an additional 6,672 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its position in ExlService by 382.4% in the third quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,595,234 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $44,730,000 after purchasing an additional 1,264,529 shares during the last quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System raised its stake in ExlService by 396.7% during the third quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System now owns 44,935 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,260,000 after purchasing an additional 35,888 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank lifted its position in ExlService by 475.3% during the third quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 31,975 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $897,000 after purchasing an additional 26,417 shares during the last quarter. 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.