ASGN (NYSE:ASGN) Upgraded to “Buy” at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of ASGN (NYSE:ASGN) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research report released on Monday morning.

Several other equities research analysts have also weighed in on ASGN. BMO Capital Markets upgraded ASGN from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $96.00 to $100.00 in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. Canaccord Genuity Group reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $115.00 price target on shares of ASGN in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group cut their price objective on ASGN from $95.00 to $88.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Monday, September 9th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, ASGN currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $97.83.

ASGN Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE ASGN opened at $83.47 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.13 and a beta of 1.37. ASGN has a one year low of $82.04 and a one year high of $106.42. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $90.11 and a 200 day simple moving average of $91.70. The company has a current ratio of 2.25, a quick ratio of 2.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58.

ASGN (NYSE:ASGN) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 23rd. The business services provider reported $1.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.35 by $0.08. ASGN had a net margin of 4.37% and a return on equity of 13.65%. The company had revenue of $1.03 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.03 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.68 EPS. The business’s revenue was down 7.7% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts expect that ASGN will post 5.17 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at ASGN

In related news, President Randolph C. Blazer sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $95.03, for a total value of $950,300.00. Following the completion of the sale, the president now owns 85,923 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,165,262.69. This trade represents a 10.43 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Carol Lindstrom sold 1,060 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, October 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $93.02, for a total value of $98,601.20. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 4,579 shares in the company, valued at approximately $425,938.58. This represents a 18.80 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 12,260 shares of company stock worth $1,168,469. Insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of ASGN

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Reinhart Partners LLC. raised its position in shares of ASGN by 7.2% during the 3rd quarter. Reinhart Partners LLC. now owns 588,999 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $54,912,000 after acquiring an additional 39,607 shares during the last quarter. Argent Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of ASGN by 12.1% during the third quarter. Argent Capital Management LLC now owns 10,559 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $984,000 after purchasing an additional 1,142 shares during the period. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. increased its holdings in ASGN by 17.3% in the third quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. now owns 5,414 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $505,000 after purchasing an additional 800 shares during the last quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB lifted its stake in ASGN by 28.2% in the third quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 11,823 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,102,000 after buying an additional 2,600 shares during the period. Finally, Cim Investment Management Inc. bought a new position in ASGN during the third quarter worth about $205,000. 95.36% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

ASGN Company Profile

ASGN Incorporated engages in the provision of information technology (IT) services and solutions in the technology, digital, and creative fields for commercial and government sectors in the United States, Canada, and Europe. It operates through two segments: Commercial and Federal Government. The Commercial Segment provides consulting, creative digital marketing, and permanent placement services primarily to enterprise clients.