Royce & Associates LP Cuts Stock Holdings in WNS (Holdings) Limited (NYSE:WNS)

Key Points

• Royce & Associates LP reduced its holdings in WNS (Holdings) Limited by 31.9%, selling 102,410 shares and retaining 218,961 shares valued at approximately $13.46 million.
• WNS reported $1.02 earnings per share, surpassing analysts' estimates of $0.97, with revenue of $339.90 million for the quarter, a 9.5% year-over-year increase.
• Wall Street analysts have shifted their ratings for WNS, with several lowering their target from "buy" to "hold," resulting in a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $68.13.

Royce & Associates LP reduced its position in shares of WNS (Holdings) Limited (NYSE:WNS - Free Report) by 31.9% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 218,961 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 102,410 shares during the period. Royce & Associates LP owned approximately 0.47% of WNS worth $13,464,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in WNS. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its stake in 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 purchasing an additional 5,333 shares during the last quarter. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS bought a new stake in WNS in the fourth quarter worth $355,000. Kennedy Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in WNS in the fourth quarter worth $2,813,000. KBC Group NV bought a new stake in WNS in the first quarter worth $109,000. Finally, Teacher Retirement System of Texas bought a new stake in WNS in the first quarter worth $357,000. 97.36% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have weighed in on WNS. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of WNS from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, July 12th. Barrington Research downgraded shares of WNS from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. William Blair downgraded shares of WNS from a "strong-buy" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research note on Monday, July 7th. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a "hold" rating and issued a $76.50 target price (down from $80.00) on shares of WNS in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft began coverage on WNS in a report on Thursday, July 17th. They set a "hold" rating and a $76.50 price target on the stock. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, WNS has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $68.13.

WNS Trading Down 0.0%

WNS stock traded down $0.02 during trading on Monday, reaching $74.71. The company had a trading volume of 844,647 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,137,948. WNS has a 52 week low of $42.62 and a 52 week high of $75.09. The company has a market cap of $3.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.81, a PEG ratio of 2.25 and a beta of 0.93. The business has a 50 day moving average of $63.88 and a 200 day moving average of $60.86. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19, a current ratio of 1.76 and a quick ratio of 1.76.

WNS (NYSE:WNS - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 24th. The business services provider reported $1.02 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.97 by $0.05. WNS had a net margin of 12.11% and a return on equity of 23.03%. The company had revenue of $339.90 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $323.13 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.93 earnings per share. WNS's revenue was up 9.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that WNS will post 3.8 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.