Norges Bank Purchases New Holdings in ExlService Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXLS)

Norges Bank acquired a new position in ExlService Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXLS) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 2,398,656 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $106,452,000. Norges Bank owned about 1.49% of ExlService at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Handelsbanken Fonder AB boosted its stake 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 valued at $97,400,000 after purchasing an additional 1,664,400 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in ExlService in the 4th quarter valued at about $52,852,000. American Century Companies Inc. grew its stake in ExlService by 204.2% in the 4th quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 609,616 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $27,055,000 after acquiring an additional 409,242 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of ExlService by 1.4% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 15,771,191 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $699,925,000 after acquiring an additional 215,485 shares during the period. Finally, Tredje AP fonden bought a new stake in shares of ExlService during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $9,320,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.92% of the company’s stock.

ExlService Stock Up 1.2 %

NASDAQ:EXLS opened at $47.78 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37, a quick ratio of 3.02 and a current ratio of 3.02. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 41.91, a P/E/G ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 1.10. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $48.70 and its 200-day simple moving average is $44.99. ExlService Holdings, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $28.16 and a fifty-two week high of $52.43.

ExlService (NASDAQ:EXLS) last released its quarterly earnings results 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 firm had revenue of $481.43 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $475.68 million. On average, equities analysts anticipate that ExlService Holdings, Inc. will post 1.27 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at ExlService

In related news, CFO Maurizio Nicolelli sold 13,753 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, January 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $49.14, for a total value of $675,822.42. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 194,440 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,554,781.60. This represents a 6.61 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Anita Mahon sold 10,558 shares of ExlService stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $45.92, for a total value of $484,823.36. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 94,443 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,336,822.56. This represents a 10.06 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 47,351 shares of company stock valued at $2,337,284 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 4.16% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently issued reports on EXLS. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on ExlService from $48.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. StockNews.com upgraded ExlService from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Sunday, February 2nd. Needham & Company LLC upped their price objective on shares of ExlService from $50.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on shares of ExlService from $47.00 to $57.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $47.38.

ExlService 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.