Jefferies Financial Group Reaffirms "Hold" Rating for WNS (NYSE:WNS)

WNS (NYSE:WNS - Get Free Report)'s stock had its "hold" rating restated by equities researchers at Jefferies Financial Group in a research report issued to clients and investors on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. They presently have a $76.50 price target on the business services provider's stock, down from their previous price target of $80.00. Jefferies Financial Group's price objective suggests a potential upside of 2.11% from the stock's previous close.

A number of other research analysts have also commented on WNS. Barrington Research restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $75.00 target price on shares of WNS in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Needham & Company LLC lowered WNS from a "moderate buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday. Finally, William Blair lowered WNS from a "strong-buy" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research note on Monday. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, WNS currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $64.94.

WNS Stock Performance

Shares of WNS stock traded up $0.18 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $74.92. 5,648,248 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 724,677. WNS has a fifty-two week low of $42.62 and a fifty-two week high of $74.95. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.14, a P/E/G ratio of 2.14 and a beta of 0.93. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $59.30 and a 200-day moving average price of $58.22. The company has a quick ratio of 1.76, a current ratio of 1.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19.

WNS (NYSE:WNS - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The business services provider reported $1.45 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.41 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $336.30 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $323.62 million. WNS had a return on equity of 23.26% and a net margin of 12.94%. The company's quarterly revenue was down .8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.12 earnings per share. Analysts predict that WNS will post 3.8 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of WNS

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Hhlr Advisors LTD. bought a new stake in shares of WNS during the fourth quarter worth $72,576,000. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans boosted its holdings in WNS by 26.7% in the fourth quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 1,483,569 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $70,307,000 after acquiring an additional 312,519 shares during the last quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. boosted its holdings in WNS by 2.6% in 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 acquiring an additional 35,074 shares during the last quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. boosted its holdings in WNS by 3.0% in 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 acquiring an additional 41,505 shares during the last quarter. Finally, William Blair Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in WNS by 5.0% in the fourth quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC now owns 1,112,743 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $52,733,000 after acquiring an additional 53,433 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 97.36% of the company's stock.

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.