ASGN (NYSE:ASGN) Upgraded at BMO Capital Markets

ASGN (NYSE:ASGN) was upgraded by BMO Capital Markets from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research note issued to investors on Friday, MarketBeat.com reports. The firm presently has a $100.00 price target on the business services provider’s stock, up from their prior price target of $96.00. BMO Capital Markets’ target price would suggest a potential upside of 12.06% from the stock’s previous close.

ASGN has been the topic of a number of other reports. Jefferies Financial Group lowered 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. Canaccord Genuity Group reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $115.00 price objective on shares of ASGN in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, ASGN presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $97.89.

ASGN Stock Performance

ASGN opened at $89.24 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $3.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.59 and a beta of 1.40. ASGN has a 1-year low of $83.71 and a 1-year high of $106.42. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $93.54 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $93.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58, a current ratio of 2.25 and a quick ratio of 2.25.

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other ASGN news, CEO Theodore S. Hanson sold 1,200 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $99.64, for a total transaction of $119,568.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 288,855 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $28,781,512.20. The trade was a 0.41 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, President Randolph C. Blazer sold 10,000 shares of the company’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 sale, the president now owns 85,923 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,165,262.69. This trade represents a 10.43 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 14,763 shares of company stock valued at $1,398,986 in the last quarter. 3.20% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On ASGN

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Reinhart Partners LLC. grew its holdings in 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 purchasing an additional 39,607 shares during the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC lifted its stake in 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 worth $1,753,000 after purchasing an additional 18,868 shares during the last quarter. Argent Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of ASGN by 43.8% during 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 during the period. Handelsbanken Fonder AB grew its stake in shares of ASGN by 28.2% during 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. Finally, LRI Investments LLC purchased a new stake in shares of ASGN in the first quarter worth approximately $154,000. Institutional investors 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.