ASGN (NYSE:ASGN) Trading Up 6.1% – Here’s Why

ASGN Incorporated (NYSE:ASGN) rose 6.1% on Friday . The stock traded as high as $90.60 and last traded at $89.63. Approximately 82,731 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 73% from the average daily volume of 301,939 shares. The stock had previously closed at $84.50.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently weighed in on ASGN. BMO Capital Markets raised ASGN from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $96.00 to $100.00 in a research report on Friday. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price objective on ASGN from $95.00 to $88.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, September 9th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $115.00 target price on shares of ASGN in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $97.89.

ASGN Stock Performance

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 stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $93.54 and a 200-day simple moving average of $93.27. The company has a market capitalization of $3.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.59 and a beta of 1.40.

ASGN (NYSE:ASGN) last announced its 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. The business had revenue of $1.03 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.03 billion. ASGN had a net margin of 4.37% and a return on equity of 13.65%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 7.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.68 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that ASGN Incorporated will post 5.17 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other ASGN news, President Randolph C. Blazer sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s 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 in the company, valued at approximately $8,165,262.69. This trade represents a 10.43 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Theodore S. Hanson sold 1,200 shares of the company’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 transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 288,855 shares in the company, valued at $28,781,512.20. The trade was a 0.41 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 14,763 shares of company stock worth $1,398,986. Insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of ASGN

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of ASGN. LRI Investments LLC bought a new position in ASGN in the 1st quarter valued at $154,000. SG Americas Securities LLC lifted its stake in shares of ASGN by 1,851.6% during 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 acquiring an additional 18,868 shares during the period. Argent Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in 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 acquiring an additional 2,868 shares during the last quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB increased its position in ASGN by 28.2% in the third quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 11,823 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,102,000 after purchasing an additional 2,600 shares during the period. Finally, Reinhart Partners LLC. raised 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 worth $54,912,000 after purchasing an additional 39,607 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.36% of the company’s stock.

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.