ASGN (NYSE:ASGN) Upgraded to “Outperform” at BMO Capital Markets

BMO Capital Markets upgraded shares of ASGN (NYSE:ASGN) from a market perform rating to an outperform rating in a research report report published on Friday, MarketBeat reports. They currently have $100.00 price target on the business services provider’s stock, up from their previous price target of $96.00.

A number of other research firms have also recently weighed in on ASGN. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their target price on shares of ASGN from $95.00 to $88.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, September 9th. Canaccord Genuity Group reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $115.00 price target on shares of ASGN in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, ASGN presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $97.89.

ASGN Stock Up 5.6 %

ASGN opened at $89.24 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58, a quick ratio of 2.25 and a current ratio of 2.25. ASGN has a fifty-two week low of $83.71 and a fifty-two week high of $106.42. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $93.61 and its 200 day moving average is $93.33. The stock has a market cap of $3.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.43 and a beta of 1.40.

ASGN (NYSE:ASGN) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The business services provider reported $1.43 earnings per share 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.03 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.68 EPS. ASGN’s revenue for the quarter was down 7.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that ASGN will post 5.17 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Jonathan S. Holman sold 503 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $90.45, for a total transaction of $45,496.35. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 10,821 shares in the company, valued at approximately $978,759.45. This represents a 4.44 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Arshad Matin sold 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $92.51, for a total transaction of $185,020.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 11,645 shares in the company, valued at $1,077,278.95. This represents a 14.66 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 14,763 shares of company stock worth $1,398,986. 3.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On ASGN

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ASGN. LRI Investments LLC bought a new position in ASGN during the 1st quarter valued at about $154,000. SG Americas Securities LLC grew its stake in ASGN by 1,851.6% in the 2nd quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 19,887 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,753,000 after acquiring an additional 18,868 shares in the last quarter. Argent Capital Management LLC grew its stake in ASGN by 43.8% in the 2nd quarter. Argent Capital Management LLC now owns 9,417 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $830,000 after acquiring an additional 2,868 shares in the last quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB grew its stake in ASGN by 28.2% in the 3rd quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 11,823 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,102,000 after acquiring an additional 2,600 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Reinhart Partners LLC. grew its stake in ASGN by 7.2% in the 3rd quarter. Reinhart Partners LLC. now owns 588,999 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $54,912,000 after acquiring an additional 39,607 shares in the last quarter. 95.36% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.