ExlService (NASDAQ:EXLS) Reaches New 52-Week High – Here’s Why

ExlService Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXLS)’s stock price hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Thursday. The stock traded as high as $43.90 and last traded at $43.6460, with a volume of 62,351 shares. The stock had previously closed at $43.12.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

EXLS has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Robert W. Baird set a $45.00 target price on ExlService and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of ExlService from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Monday, October 26th. TD Cowen lifted their price target on shares of ExlService from $45.00 to $49.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 29th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on shares of ExlService from $46.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 29th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised ExlService from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, September 26th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $48.17.

ExlService Stock Performance

The business has a 50 day moving average price of $37.86 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $32.81. The company has a quick ratio of 2.16, a current ratio of 2.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54. The stock has a market cap of $6.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.49 and a beta of 0.83.

ExlService (NASDAQ:EXLS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 27th. The business services provider reported $0.62 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.56 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $633.96 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $615.51 million. ExlService had a net margin of 11.13% and a return on equity of 32.53%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 19.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.48 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that ExlService Holdings, Inc. will post 1.88 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Vikas Bhalla sold 11,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $41.22, for a total transaction of $453,420.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 98,295 shares in the company, valued at $4,051,719.90. This represents a 10.06% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders own 3.66% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On ExlService

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new stake in ExlService in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $488,370,000. Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH boosted its position in shares of ExlService by 6.2% during the third quarter. Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH now owns 1,775,966 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $61,058,000 after buying an additional 103,789 shares during the period. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC grew its stake in shares of ExlService by 54.6% in the third quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 1,397,701 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $50,988,000 after buying an additional 493,434 shares in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE acquired a new stake in shares of ExlService during the 2nd quarter worth about $48,189,000. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp acquired a new position in ExlService in the second quarter valued at about $25,214,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.92% of the company’s stock.

About ExlService

ExlService Holdings, Inc, operating under the EXL brand, is a data analytics and digital operations company that helps businesses use data, technology and artificial intelligence to improve decision-making, manage risk and enhance operational performance. Its services include data management, advanced analytics, business process solutions, automation and technology-enabled transformation.

EXL serves clients across industries including insurance, healthcare, banking and capital markets, utilities, travel and transportation, retail, media and manufacturing.