Hsbc Holdings PLC Raises Stock Position in WNS (Holdings) Limited (NYSE:WNS)

Hsbc Holdings PLC boosted its holdings in shares of WNS (Holdings) Limited (NYSE:WNS - Free Report) by 78.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 10,548 shares of the business services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 4,626 shares during the quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC's holdings in WNS were worth $496,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans raised its stake in WNS by 26.7% during the fourth quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 1,483,569 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $70,307,000 after buying an additional 312,519 shares during the last quarter. Mesirow Institutional Investment Management Inc. acquired a new stake in WNS during the 4th quarter worth about $14,181,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its position in shares of WNS by 3,523.4% in the 4th quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 152,326 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $7,219,000 after acquiring an additional 148,122 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of WNS by 27.1% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 415,556 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $19,693,000 after acquiring an additional 88,698 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nisa Investment Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of WNS by 15,848.8% in the 4th quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 85,645 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $4,059,000 after purchasing an additional 85,108 shares during the period. 97.36% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently commented on WNS shares. Robert W. Baird raised their target price on WNS from $58.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Barrington Research reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $75.00 price objective on shares of WNS in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Needham & Company LLC boosted their target price on shares of WNS from $65.00 to $70.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. StockNews.com raised shares of WNS from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price target on shares of WNS from $60.00 to $55.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $62.25.

WNS Stock Up 0.8%

WNS stock traded up $0.47 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $55.20. 36,075 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 555,080. The company has a quick ratio of 1.81, a current ratio of 1.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $62.12 and its 200-day moving average price is $55.60. WNS has a 52 week low of $42.62 and a 52 week high of $72.11. The company has a market cap of $2.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.27, a P/E/G ratio of 2.10 and a beta of 0.94.

WNS (NYSE:WNS - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The business services provider reported $1.45 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.41 by $0.04. WNS had a net margin of 10.03% and a return on equity of 22.25%. The company had revenue of $336.30 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $323.62 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.12 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down .8% 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.

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.