Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. Lowers Stake in WNS (Holdings) Limited (NYSE:WNS)

Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. lessened its stake in shares of WNS (Holdings) Limited (NYSE:WNS) by 10.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,373,427 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 154,084 shares during the quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in WNS were worth $65,087,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. FMR LLC lifted its stake in shares of WNS by 2.1% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 4,898,543 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $258,202,000 after purchasing an additional 99,195 shares in the last quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans acquired a new position in shares of WNS during the third quarter worth about $61,726,000. State Street Corp lifted its stake in shares of WNS by 40.5% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 743,343 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $39,182,000 after purchasing an additional 214,417 shares in the last quarter. Royce & Associates LP lifted its stake in shares of WNS by 3.5% during the third quarter. Royce & Associates LP now owns 292,011 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $15,392,000 after purchasing an additional 9,900 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of WNS by 3,523.4% during the fourth quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 152,326 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $7,219,000 after purchasing an additional 148,122 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.36% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have commented on WNS shares. StockNews.com upgraded WNS from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Needham & Company LLC boosted their price target on WNS from $65.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on WNS from $58.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group cut their price target on WNS from $60.00 to $55.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $61.63.

WNS Stock Performance

Shares of WNS stock opened at $59.37 on Friday. WNS has a 12-month low of $39.85 and a 12-month high of $65.03. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.10 and a beta of 1.22. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $55.35 and a 200 day simple moving average of $52.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19, a current ratio of 1.81 and a quick ratio of 1.81.

WNS (NYSE:WNS) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 23rd. The business services provider reported $0.89 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.04 by ($0.15). WNS had a return on equity of 22.25% and a net margin of 10.03%. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that WNS will post 3.8 EPS 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.