ASGN Incorporated (NYSE:ASGN) Short Interest Up 6.5% in January

ASGN Incorporated (NYSE:ASGN) was the recipient of a significant increase in short interest during the month of January. As of January 15th, there was short interest totalling 1,960,000 shares, an increase of 6.5% from the December 31st total of 1,840,000 shares. Currently, 4.6% of the company’s shares are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 348,900 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 5.6 days.

ASGN Stock Down 0.1 %

Shares of ASGN stock traded down $0.09 on Tuesday, reaching $87.31. 27,996 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 314,737. ASGN has a 1-year low of $82.04 and a 1-year high of $106.42. The company has a market cap of $3.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.10 and a beta of 1.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58, a current ratio of 2.25 and a quick ratio of 2.25. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $88.11 and its 200-day moving average price is $91.50.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ASGN has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. StockNews.com lowered shares of ASGN from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. BMO Capital Markets raised shares of ASGN from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $96.00 to $100.00 in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $115.00 price target on shares of ASGN in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $101.75.

Insider Transactions at ASGN

In other ASGN news, CEO Theodore S. Hanson sold 1,200 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $99.64, for a total transaction of $119,568.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 288,855 shares in the company, valued at $28,781,512.20. This represents a 0.41 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Company insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On ASGN

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Reinhart Partners LLC. lifted its stake in ASGN by 7.2% in the third quarter. Reinhart Partners LLC. now owns 588,999 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $54,912,000 after buying an additional 39,607 shares during the last quarter. Argent Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in ASGN by 31.6% in the fourth quarter. Argent Capital Management LLC now owns 13,898 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,158,000 after buying an additional 3,339 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 last quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. lifted its stake 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 buying an additional 800 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Entropy Technologies LP purchased a new stake in ASGN in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $299,000. 95.36% of the stock is 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.