WNS (NYSE:WNS) Shares Gap Up on Analyst Upgrade

Shares of WNS (Holdings) Limited (NYSE:WNS) gapped up prior to trading on Thursday after StockNews.com upgraded the stock from a hold rating to a buy rating. The stock had previously closed at $49.50, but opened at $51.94. WNS shares last traded at $54.90, with a volume of 63,783 shares trading hands.

A number of other equities analysts have also commented on the stock. TD Cowen lowered shares of WNS from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lowered their price target for the stock from $64.00 to $53.00 in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Citigroup set a $55.00 price objective on WNS in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Barrington Research reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $70.00 target price on shares of WNS in a report on Friday, October 18th. Robert W. Baird increased their target price on shares of WNS from $58.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their price objective on shares of WNS from $55.00 to $51.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, WNS presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $61.00.

Institutional Trading of WNS

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Jane Street Group LLC increased its position in WNS by 728.1% in the 3rd quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 52,974 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $2,792,000 after buying an additional 46,577 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its position in shares of WNS by 40.5% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 743,343 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $39,182,000 after purchasing an additional 214,417 shares during the period. TimesSquare Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of WNS by 17.1% in the 3rd quarter. TimesSquare Capital Management LLC now owns 377,825 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $19,915,000 after purchasing an additional 55,306 shares in the last quarter. Citigroup Inc. increased its stake in WNS by 90.0% during the 3rd quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 67,333 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $3,549,000 after purchasing an additional 31,886 shares in the last quarter. Finally, MetLife Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in WNS by 117.3% during the third quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 25,388 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,338,000 after buying an additional 13,702 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.36% of the company’s stock.

WNS Price Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 1.62, a current ratio of 1.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $48.65 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $52.31. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.00 and a beta of 1.16.

WNS (NYSE:WNS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 23rd. The business services provider reported $0.89 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.04 by ($0.15). WNS had a return on equity of 22.76% and a net margin of 9.39%. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that WNS will post 3.52 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

About WNS

WNS (Holdings) Limited, a business process management (BPM) company, provides data, voice, analytical, and business transformation services worldwide. The company operates through TSLU, MRHP, HCLS, and BFSI segments. It engages in diversified business, including manufacturing, retail, consumer packaged goods, media and entertainment, and telecommunication; travel and leisure, utilities, shipping, and logistics; healthcare and life sciences; banking, financial services, and insurance; and Hi-tech and professional services, as well as procurement.