Sheets Smith Investment Management Takes Position in ExlService Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXLS)

Sheets Smith Investment Management acquired a new stake in shares of ExlService Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXLS) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 36,353 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,613,000. ExlService accounts for about 1.4% of Sheets Smith Investment Management’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 23rd largest position.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew 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 buying an additional 215,485 shares in the last quarter. Bridge City Capital LLC grew its position in shares of ExlService by 8.1% during the fourth quarter. Bridge City Capital LLC now owns 165,879 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $7,362,000 after buying an additional 12,462 shares in the last quarter. LPL Financial LLC grew its position in shares of ExlService by 5.7% during the fourth quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 170,516 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $7,764,000 after buying an additional 9,217 shares in the last quarter. Fox Run Management L.L.C. acquired a new stake in shares of ExlService during the fourth quarter worth approximately $835,000. Finally, KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS acquired a new stake in shares of ExlService during the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,722,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.92% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Ajay Ayyappan sold 4,989 shares of ExlService stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.70, for a total transaction of $252,942.30. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 40,986 shares in the company, valued at $2,077,990.20. The trade was a 10.85 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO Maurizio Nicolelli sold 13,753 shares of ExlService stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $49.14, for a total transaction of $675,822.42. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 194,440 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,554,781.60. This represents a 6.61 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 47,351 shares of company stock valued at $2,337,284. 4.16% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

ExlService Stock Performance

Shares of EXLS opened at $46.34 on Monday. ExlService Holdings, Inc. has a 1 year low of $28.16 and a 1 year high of $52.43. The company has a market cap of $7.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 1.10. 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 firm has a fifty day moving average of $48.69 and a 200-day moving average of $44.44.

ExlService (NASDAQ:EXLS) last announced 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 net margin of 10.61% and a return on equity of 23.23%. The firm had revenue of $481.43 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $475.68 million. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that ExlService Holdings, Inc. will post 1.27 earnings per share for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

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.