WNS (Holdings) Limited (NYSE:WNS) Short Interest Down 22.9% in August

Key Points

• Short interest in WNS (Holdings) Limited decreased by 22.9% in August, with a total of 1,080,000 shares sold short as of August 15th.
• The company reported $1.02 earnings per share, exceeding expectations, and showed a 9.5% year-over-year revenue increase.
• Analysts have set a consensus hold rating on WNS with an average price target of $67.43, reflecting cautious sentiment among investment firms.

WNS (Holdings) Limited (NYSE:WNS - Get Free Report) was the target of a significant drop in short interest in August. As of August 15th, there was short interest totaling 1,080,000 shares, a drop of 22.9% from the July 31st total of 1,400,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 1,800,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 0.6 days. Approximately 2.9% of the company's stock are short sold. Approximately 2.9% of the company's stock are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 1,800,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 0.6 days.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On WNS

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of WNS. Pzena Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of WNS during the second quarter worth $105,134,000. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP acquired a new position in WNS in the first quarter valued at about $51,712,000. Nuveen LLC acquired a new position in WNS in the first quarter valued at about $37,321,000. Voya Investment Management LLC raised its stake in WNS by 4,316.0% in the first quarter. Voya Investment Management LLC now owns 568,206 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $34,939,000 after purchasing an additional 555,339 shares in the last quarter. Finally, MetLife Investment Management LLC raised its stake in WNS by 1,160.1% in the first quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 322,258 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $19,816,000 after purchasing an additional 296,683 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.36% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on WNS shares. Baird R W cut shares of WNS from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. William Blair cut shares of WNS from a "strong-buy" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research note on Monday, July 7th. Barrington Research downgraded WNS from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft assumed coverage on WNS in a report on Thursday, July 17th. They set a "hold" rating and a $76.50 price target for the company. Finally, Needham & Company LLC downgraded WNS from a "moderate buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, July 7th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $67.43.

WNS Stock Performance

Shares of WNS traded down $0.08 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $75.66. 305,798 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 603,502. WNS has a twelve month low of $42.62 and a twelve month high of $75.84. The company has a quick ratio of 1.47, a current ratio of 1.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18. The company has a market cap of $3.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.08, a PEG ratio of 2.25 and a beta of 0.91. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $75.07 and its 200 day simple moving average is $65.51.

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