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

WNS (Holdings) Limited (NYSE:WNS) was the target of a large decline in short interest in the month of August. As of August 15th, there was short interest totaling 1,080,000 shares, a decline of 22.9% from the July 31st total of 1,400,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 1,800,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 0.6 days. Approximately 2.9% of the shares of the company are short sold. Approximately 2.9% of the shares of the company are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 1,800,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 0.6 days.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on WNS shares. Baird R W cut WNS from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. Needham & Company LLC cut WNS from a “moderate buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, July 7th. Jefferies Financial Group restated a “hold” rating and issued a $76.50 price objective (down from $80.00) on shares of WNS in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft started coverage on WNS in a research note on Thursday, July 17th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $76.50 price objective on the stock. Finally, Barrington Research cut WNS from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, WNS presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $67.43.

WNS Price Performance

WNS stock opened at $75.46 on Wednesday. WNS has a 52 week low of $42.62 and a 52 week high of $75.58. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $74.45 and a 200 day simple moving average of $65.13. 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 stock has a market cap of $3.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.02, a PEG ratio of 2.24 and a beta of 0.91.

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On WNS

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in WNS. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its position in WNS by 14.5% during the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 16,906 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $802,000 after buying an additional 2,137 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp grew its position in WNS by 7.8% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 341,820 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $16,199,000 after buying an additional 24,690 shares in the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its position in WNS by 1.8% during the fourth quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 153,203 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $7,260,000 after buying an additional 2,766 shares in the last quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers grew its position in WNS by 35.0% during the fourth quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 5,134 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $243,000 after buying an additional 1,331 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Millennium Management LLC grew its position in WNS by 54.6% during the fourth quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 9,070 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $430,000 after buying an additional 3,204 shares in the last quarter. 97.36% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

WNS Company 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.