WNS (NYSE:WNS) Shares Gap Up After 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 changing hands.

Several other brokerages also recently weighed in on WNS. TD Cowen downgraded WNS from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and cut their price target for the company from $64.00 to $53.00 in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Citigroup set a $55.00 price objective on shares of WNS in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their price target on WNS from $55.00 to $51.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. Needham & Company LLC boosted their price target on WNS from $60.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Barrington Research reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $70.00 price objective on shares of WNS in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $61.00.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On WNS

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in WNS. Jane Street Group LLC raised its position in shares of WNS by 728.1% during the 3rd quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 52,974 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $2,792,000 after buying an additional 46,577 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its stake in shares of WNS by 40.5% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 743,343 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $39,182,000 after acquiring an additional 214,417 shares in the last quarter. TimesSquare Capital Management LLC increased its stake in 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. raised its holdings in shares of WNS by 90.0% during the third quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 67,333 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $3,549,000 after acquiring an additional 31,886 shares during the period. Finally, MetLife Investment Management LLC raised its stake in WNS by 117.3% during the 3rd quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 25,388 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,338,000 after purchasing an additional 13,702 shares during the period. 97.36% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

WNS Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23, a quick ratio of 1.62 and a current ratio of 1.62. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.97 billion, a PE ratio of 23.93, a P/E/G ratio of 2.00 and a beta of 1.16. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $48.65 and a 200-day moving average of $52.31.

WNS (NYSE:WNS) last released its earnings results 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%. Research analysts forecast that WNS will post 3.52 earnings per share 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.