ExlService Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXLS) Shares Sold by Principal Financial Group Inc.

Principal Financial Group Inc. cut its position in ExlService Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXLS) by 28.3% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 436,885 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 172,402 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in ExlService were worth $16,667,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in EXLS. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its position in shares of ExlService by 7.2% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,641,949 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $51,492,000 after purchasing an additional 110,526 shares during the period. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lifted its position in ExlService by 6.3% during the 2nd quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 74,742 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $2,344,000 after acquiring an additional 4,446 shares during the period. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. lifted its position in ExlService by 164.0% during the 2nd quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 924 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 574 shares during the period. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank lifted its position in ExlService by 52.7% during the 2nd quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 104,334 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $3,272,000 after acquiring an additional 36,029 shares during the period. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its position in ExlService by 22.0% during the 2nd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 77,350 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $2,426,000 after acquiring an additional 13,959 shares during the period. 92.92% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

ExlService Stock Performance

Shares of EXLS stock opened at $44.53 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $7.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.26 and a beta of 1.01. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $44.35 and a 200-day simple moving average of $38.03. ExlService Holdings, Inc. has a 12-month low of $28.16 and a 12-month high of $47.37. The company has a current ratio of 3.02, a quick ratio of 3.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37.

ExlService (NASDAQ:EXLS) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The business services provider reported $0.44 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.41 by $0.03. ExlService had a return on equity of 23.23% and a net margin of 10.61%. The business had revenue of $472.07 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $460.73 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.30 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 14.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast that ExlService Holdings, Inc. will post 1.27 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have weighed in on the company. Needham & Company LLC increased their price objective on ExlService from $40.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Jefferies Financial Group raised ExlService from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $35.00 to $42.00 in a research report on Monday, September 9th. Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on ExlService from $40.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. StockNews.com raised ExlService from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on ExlService from $38.00 to $41.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, September 6th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $42.86.

Insider Activity at ExlService

In related news, CEO Rohit Kapoor sold 100,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $42.07, for a total value of $4,207,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,190,240 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $50,073,396.80. This trade represents a 7.75 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Vikas Bhalla sold 22,813 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $41.86, for a total value of $954,952.18. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 102,825 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,304,254.50. The trade was a 18.16 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 426,458 shares of company stock valued at $18,720,514 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 4.16% of the company’s stock.

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.