ExlService Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXLS) Short Interest Up 5.7% in September

ExlService Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXLS) was the recipient of a large increase in short interest during the month of September. As of September 30th, there was short interest totalling 4,300,000 shares, an increase of 5.7% from the September 15th total of 4,070,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 901,900 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 4.8 days.

ExlService Price Performance

Shares of EXLS traded up $0.15 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $40.47. 767,495 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 949,106. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.78 billion, a PE ratio of 37.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.05 and a beta of 1.00. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $36.78 and a 200 day simple moving average of $33.03. ExlService has a fifty-two week low of $25.17 and a fifty-two week high of $40.56. The company has a quick ratio of 2.45, a current ratio of 2.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30.

ExlService (NASDAQ:EXLS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The business services provider reported $0.40 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.39 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $448.40 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $444.61 million. ExlService had a net margin of 10.45% and a return on equity of 22.92%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.31 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that ExlService will post 1.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have weighed in on EXLS. Citigroup upped their target price on shares of ExlService from $38.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on ExlService from $38.00 to $41.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, September 6th. Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on ExlService from $35.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded ExlService from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the company from $35.00 to $42.00 in a research report on Monday, September 9th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $40.00 price objective on shares of ExlService in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $40.86.

Insider Activity at ExlService

In related news, insider Vikas Bhalla sold 11,190 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $34.25, for a total transaction of $383,257.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 100,866 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,454,660.50. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. In related news, insider Vikas Bhalla sold 11,190 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $34.25, for a total transaction of $383,257.50. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 100,866 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,454,660.50. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Vivek Jetley sold 2,015 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $35.75, for a total value of $72,036.25. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 326,642 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,677,451.50. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 134,875 shares of company stock worth $4,716,859 in the last three months. Insiders own 3.75% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of ExlService

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Russell Investments Group Ltd. grew its position in shares of ExlService by 18.2% in the first quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 257,029 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $8,174,000 after purchasing an additional 39,537 shares during the period. Silvercrest Asset Management Group LLC acquired a new stake in ExlService in the 1st quarter worth about $19,417,000. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its holdings in ExlService by 118.6% in the 4th quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 1,668,368 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $51,469,000 after buying an additional 905,144 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of ExlService by 0.9% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 17,176,353 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $546,208,000 after acquiring an additional 160,723 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC purchased a new position in shares of ExlService during the 1st quarter worth about $4,501,000. 92.92% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.