ASGN (NYSE:ASGN) Rating Lowered to Hold at StockNews.com

ASGN (NYSE:ASGN) was downgraded by research analysts at StockNews.com from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Tuesday.

ASGN has been the subject of several other research reports. BMO Capital Markets upgraded shares of ASGN from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $96.00 to $100.00 in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. Canaccord Genuity Group restated a “buy” rating and issued a $115.00 target price on shares of ASGN in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group cut their price target on ASGN from $95.00 to $88.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, September 9th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, ASGN has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $95.40.

ASGN Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE ASGN opened at $85.21 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 2.25, a current ratio of 2.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $89.18 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $91.57. ASGN has a 52-week low of $82.04 and a 52-week high of $106.42. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.57 and a beta of 1.38.

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

Insider Buying and Selling at ASGN

In related news, Director Carol Lindstrom sold 1,060 shares of ASGN stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $93.02, for a total transaction of $98,601.20. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 4,579 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $425,938.58. The trade was a 18.80 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Theodore S. Hanson sold 1,200 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $99.64, for a total transaction of $119,568.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 288,855 shares in the company, valued at approximately $28,781,512.20. This trade represents a 0.41 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 12,260 shares of company stock valued at $1,168,469. Company insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On ASGN

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Reinhart Partners LLC. boosted its holdings in ASGN by 7.2% during the third quarter. Reinhart Partners LLC. now owns 588,999 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $54,912,000 after buying an additional 39,607 shares in the last quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB increased its holdings in shares of 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 in the last quarter. Argent Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of ASGN by 12.1% during the 3rd quarter. Argent Capital Management LLC now owns 10,559 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $984,000 after acquiring an additional 1,142 shares during the last quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. boosted its stake in shares of ASGN by 17.3% during the 3rd quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. now owns 5,414 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $505,000 after acquiring an additional 800 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cim Investment Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of ASGN in the 3rd quarter worth $205,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.36% of the company’s stock.

About ASGN

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.