AlphaQuest LLC Lowers Stock Holdings in ExlService Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXLS)

AlphaQuest LLC lowered its stake in shares of ExlService Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXLS) by 59.1% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 28,638 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 41,377 shares during the period. AlphaQuest LLC’s holdings in ExlService were worth $1,271,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in EXLS. Handelsbanken Fonder AB grew its holdings 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 buying an additional 1,664,400 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in ExlService in the fourth quarter valued at about $52,852,000. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P acquired a new stake in ExlService in the third quarter valued at about $17,198,000. Proficio Capital Partners LLC acquired a new stake in ExlService in the fourth quarter valued at about $8,682,000. Finally, Barclays PLC lifted its position in ExlService by 62.6% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 446,605 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $17,040,000 after purchasing an additional 171,912 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.92% of the company’s stock.

ExlService Price Performance

EXLS stock opened at $47.58 on Monday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $48.36 and a 200-day moving average of $43.73. ExlService Holdings, Inc. has a 12-month low of $28.16 and a 12-month high of $52.43. The company has a current ratio of 3.02, a quick ratio of 3.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37. The company has a market cap of $7.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.74, a PEG ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 1.10.

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on shares of ExlService from $48.00 to $54.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of ExlService from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Sunday, February 2nd. Needham & Company LLC raised their price objective on shares of ExlService from $50.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective 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 equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $47.38.

Insider Activity at ExlService

In related news, CFO Maurizio Nicolelli sold 13,753 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the chief financial officer now owns 194,440 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,554,781.60. This represents a 6.61 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Ajay Ayyappan sold 1,865 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 $1,980,443.52. This trade represents a 4.35 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 36,793 shares of company stock valued at $1,852,461. 4.16% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.