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

WNS (Holdings) Limited (NYSE:WNS)’s stock price gapped up before the market opened 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.

Several other equities research analysts have also recently weighed in on WNS. Citigroup set a $55.00 price target on shares of WNS in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Needham & Company LLC raised their target price on WNS from $60.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their target price on shares of WNS from $55.00 to $51.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. Robert W. Baird increased their price target on shares of WNS from $58.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday. Finally, Barrington Research reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $70.00 target price on shares of WNS in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $61.00.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On WNS

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of WNS. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans bought a new position in WNS during the third quarter valued at $61,726,000. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in shares of WNS by 40.5% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 743,343 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $39,182,000 after acquiring an additional 214,417 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC grew its position in WNS by 2.1% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 4,898,543 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $258,202,000 after acquiring an additional 99,195 shares in the last quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC increased its stake in WNS by 15,848.8% during the fourth quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 85,645 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $4,059,000 after acquiring an additional 85,108 shares during the last quarter. Finally, TimesSquare Capital Management LLC raised its position in WNS by 17.1% during the third quarter. TimesSquare Capital Management LLC now owns 377,825 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $19,915,000 after purchasing an additional 55,306 shares during the period. 97.36% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

WNS Trading Up 2.5 %

The stock has a market cap of $2.97 billion, a PE ratio of 23.93, a PEG ratio of 2.00 and a beta of 1.16. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $48.65 and a 200 day moving average price of $52.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23, a quick ratio of 1.62 and a current ratio of 1.62.

WNS (NYSE:WNS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 23rd. The business services provider reported $0.89 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.04 by ($0.15). WNS had a return on equity of 22.76% and a net margin of 9.39%. Equities analysts expect that WNS will post 3.52 EPS for the current year.

WNS Company Profile

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.