ASGN Incorporated (NYSE:ASGN) Short Interest Update

ASGN Incorporated (NYSE:ASGN) was the target of a large increase in short interest in October. As of October 15th, there was short interest totalling 1,460,000 shares, an increase of 6.6% from the September 30th total of 1,370,000 shares. Approximately 3.4% of the shares of the stock are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 285,400 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 5.1 days.

ASGN Stock Performance

Shares of ASGN traded down $0.71 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $91.39. 101,012 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 292,901. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.19 billion, a PE ratio of 23.01 and a beta of 1.40. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $93.88 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $93.84. ASGN has a 1-year low of $82.67 and a 1-year high of $106.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58, a quick ratio of 2.34 and a current ratio of 2.34.

ASGN (NYSE:ASGN) last released 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 company had revenue of $1.03 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.03 billion. ASGN had a return on equity of 13.65% and a net margin of 4.37%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 7.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.68 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that ASGN will post 5.17 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at ASGN

In related news, Director Arshad Matin sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, September 13th. The stock was 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $1,077,278.95. This trade represents a 0.00 % 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. In related news, Director Arshad Matin sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $92.51, for a total transaction of $185,020.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 11,645 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,077,278.95. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, President Randolph C. Blazer sold 10,000 shares of ASGN stock in a transaction dated 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 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 13,563 shares of company stock valued at $1,279,418 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Reinhart Partners LLC. lifted its holdings in ASGN by 7.2% in 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. SG Americas Securities LLC increased its holdings in shares of ASGN by 1,851.6% in the second quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 19,887 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,753,000 after buying an additional 18,868 shares in the last quarter. Argent Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of ASGN by 43.8% in the second quarter. Argent Capital Management LLC now owns 9,417 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $830,000 after buying an additional 2,868 shares in the last quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB lifted its position in shares of ASGN by 28.2% during the 3rd quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 11,823 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,102,000 after acquiring an additional 2,600 shares during the last quarter. Finally, LRI Investments LLC bought a new stake in shares of ASGN during the 1st quarter worth $154,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.36% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ASGN has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price objective 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 reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $115.00 price objective on shares of ASGN in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on ASGN from $94.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $97.44.

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.