Ardsley Advisory Partners LP Takes Position in WNS (Holdings) Limited $WNS

Key Points

• Ardsley Advisory Partners LP acquired 36,000 shares of WNS (Holdings) Limited for approximately $2.2 million, increasing its ownership to 0.08% of the company.
• Wall Street analysts have downgraded WNS's stock ratings from "strong-buy" to "hold," with a current consensus rating of Hold and an average target price of $68.13.
• WNS reported earnings of $1.02 per share for the last quarter, surpassing analysts' expectations and showing a 9.5% year-over-year revenue increase.

Ardsley Advisory Partners LP purchased a new stake in shares of WNS (Holdings) Limited (NYSE:WNS - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 36,000 shares of the business services provider's stock, valued at approximately $2,214,000. Ardsley Advisory Partners LP owned 0.08% of WNS as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WNS. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of WNS by 3.5% in the first quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 157,659 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $9,694,000 after buying an additional 5,333 shares in the last quarter. KBC Group NV purchased a new position in shares of WNS in the first quarter worth about $109,000. Teacher Retirement System of Texas purchased a new position in shares of WNS in the first quarter worth about $357,000. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of WNS by 13.3% in the first quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 65,188 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $4,008,000 after buying an additional 7,671 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Millennium Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of WNS by 54.6% in the fourth quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 9,070 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $430,000 after buying an additional 3,204 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.36% of the company's stock.

WNS Stock Up 0.0%

Shares of WNS stock traded up $0.03 during trading on Friday, reaching $75.43. The company's stock had a trading volume of 965,421 shares, compared to its average volume of 521,142. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18, a current ratio of 1.47 and a quick ratio of 1.47. The company has a market capitalization of $3.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.01, a P/E/G ratio of 2.24 and a beta of 0.91. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $73.99 and its 200 day moving average price is $64.87. WNS has a 1-year low of $42.62 and a 1-year high of $75.58.

WNS (NYSE:WNS - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 24th. The business services provider reported $1.02 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.97 by $0.05. WNS had a net margin of 12.11% and a return on equity of 22.90%. The firm had revenue of $339.90 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $323.13 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.93 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was up 9.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts anticipate that WNS will post 3.8 EPS for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WNS has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Needham & Company LLC cut shares of WNS from a "moderate buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, July 7th. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a "hold" rating and set a $76.50 price target (down from $80.00) on shares of WNS in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. Baird R W cut shares of WNS from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. William Blair cut shares of WNS from a "strong-buy" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research report on Monday, July 7th. Finally, Barrington Research cut shares of WNS from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $67.43.

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.