Ethic Inc. Invests $256,000 in ExlService Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXLS)

Ethic Inc. bought a new stake in ExlService Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXLS - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 5,768 shares of the business services provider's stock, valued at approximately $256,000.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in EXLS. FMR LLC lifted its stake in ExlService by 39.4% in the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 9,364,312 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $415,588,000 after buying an additional 2,647,937 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new position in ExlService in the fourth quarter valued at about $106,452,000. Handelsbanken Fonder AB raised its position in shares of ExlService by 313.9% during the fourth quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 2,194,690 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $97,400,000 after purchasing an additional 1,664,400 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of ExlService during the fourth quarter worth about $52,852,000. Finally, Axiom Investors LLC DE acquired a new stake in shares of ExlService during the fourth quarter worth about $20,419,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.92% of the company's stock.

ExlService Stock Down 0.6%

ExlService stock traded down $0.28 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $45.58. The stock had a trading volume of 1,714,040 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,044,651. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $45.64 and its 200-day simple moving average is $46.62. ExlService Holdings, Inc. has a 1-year low of $28.59 and a 1-year high of $52.43. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 0.86. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37, a quick ratio of 3.02 and a current ratio of 3.02.

ExlService (NASDAQ:EXLS - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The business services provider reported $0.48 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.45 by $0.03. ExlService had a return on equity of 23.23% and a net margin of 10.61%. The business had revenue of $501.02 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $489.66 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.38 EPS. ExlService's revenue for the quarter was up 14.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts expect that ExlService Holdings, Inc. will post 1.27 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

EXLS has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Needham & Company LLC raised their price target on ExlService from $50.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on ExlService from $52.00 to $53.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Wall Street Zen raised ExlService from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, May 9th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on ExlService from $48.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, ExlService presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $52.33.

Insider Activity at ExlService

In other ExlService news, insider Vikas Bhalla sold 25,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $46.11, for a total value of $1,152,750.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 135,046 shares in the company, valued at $6,226,971.06. This trade represents a 15.62% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Ajay Ayyappan sold 1,865 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $48.32, for a total value of $90,116.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 40,986 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,980,443.52. This represents a 4.35% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 52,003 shares of company stock valued at $2,420,678. 4.04% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.