Principal Financial Group Inc. Acquires 5,333 Shares of WNS (Holdings) Limited (NYSE:WNS)

Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake in WNS (Holdings) Limited (NYSE:WNS - Free Report) by 3.5% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 157,659 shares of the business services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 5,333 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned about 0.34% of WNS worth $9,694,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in WNS. MetLife Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of WNS by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 25,575 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $1,212,000 after buying an additional 187 shares in the last quarter. LPL Financial LLC grew its position in WNS by 3.9% during the 4th quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 13,770 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $653,000 after acquiring an additional 514 shares during the last quarter. Johnson Financial Group Inc. acquired a new position in WNS in the 4th quarter worth about $53,000. Cetera Investment Advisers increased its holdings in WNS by 35.0% in the 4th quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 5,134 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $243,000 after purchasing an additional 1,331 shares in the last quarter. Finally, NBC Securities Inc. bought a new position in WNS in the first quarter valued at about $96,000. Institutional investors own 97.36% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WNS has been the topic of several research reports. Barrington Research cut WNS from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of WNS from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, July 12th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft initiated coverage on shares of WNS in a research report on Thursday. They issued a "hold" rating and a $76.50 price target for the company. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a "hold" rating and set a $76.50 price target (down previously from $80.00) on shares of WNS in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC cut shares of WNS from a "moderate buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, July 7th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $68.13.

WNS Trading Down 0.0%

Shares of NYSE WNS traded down $0.04 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $74.62. The stock had a trading volume of 3,909,338 shares, compared to its average volume of 822,966. The company's 50 day moving average price is $61.12 and its 200 day moving average price is $59.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19, a quick ratio of 1.76 and a current ratio of 1.76. WNS has a twelve month low of $42.62 and a twelve month high of $74.96. The firm has a market cap of $3.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.14 and a beta of 0.93.

WNS (NYSE:WNS - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The business services provider reported $1.45 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.41 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $336.30 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $323.62 million. WNS had a net margin of 12.94% and a return on equity of 23.26%. WNS's quarterly revenue was down .8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.12 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that WNS will post 3.8 EPS for the current 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.