William Blair Investment Management LLC Cuts Position in WNS (Holdings) Limited $WNS

Key Points

• William Blair Investment Management LLC has cut its position in WNS (Holdings) Limited by 27.5%, selling 305,126 shares, and now holds approximately 1.73% of the company.
• Several hedge funds have made significant changes to their investments in WNS, including Pzena Investment Management LLC, which recently purchased a stake valued at about $105 million.
• Analysts have mostly rated WNS as a "hold"*, with a consensus price target of $72.80, and a recent price decline of 0.6% to $75.98.

William Blair Investment Management LLC decreased its holdings in WNS (Holdings) Limited (NYSE:WNS - Free Report) by 27.5% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 803,915 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 305,126 shares during the period. William Blair Investment Management LLC owned approximately 1.73% of WNS worth $50,840,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Pzena Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of WNS during the second quarter valued at approximately $105,134,000. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of WNS by 2.6% during the first quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,408,501 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $86,609,000 after purchasing an additional 35,074 shares during the period. Alliancebernstein L.P. raised its stake in shares of WNS by 3.0% during the first quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 1,405,672 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $86,435,000 after purchasing an additional 41,505 shares during the period. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP purchased a new stake in shares of WNS during the first quarter valued at approximately $51,712,000. Finally, Nuveen LLC purchased a new stake in shares of WNS during the first quarter valued at approximately $37,321,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.36% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on WNS. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "hold (c)" rating on shares of WNS in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Baird R W lowered shares of WNS from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a "hold" rating and set a $76.50 price objective (down previously from $80.00) on shares of WNS in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. Needham & Company LLC lowered shares of WNS from a "moderate buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, July 7th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered shares of WNS from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, July 12th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, WNS has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $72.80.

WNS Stock Down 0.6%

Shares of NYSE:WNS opened at $75.98 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.47, a quick ratio of 1.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $75.78 and a 200 day simple moving average of $68.13. The firm has a market cap of $3.26 billion, a PE ratio of 21.16, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.25 and a beta of 0.91. WNS has a 12-month low of $42.62 and a 12-month high of $76.48.

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

WNS 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.

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