ASGN (NYSE:ASGN) Downgraded by StockNews.com to Hold

StockNews.com lowered shares of ASGN (NYSE:ASGN) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research report report published on Tuesday morning.

Other equities analysts also recently issued reports about the stock. Canaccord Genuity Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $115.00 price objective on shares of ASGN in a report on Thursday, October 24th. BMO Capital Markets raised shares of ASGN from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $96.00 to $100.00 in a report on Friday, November 22nd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lowered their target price on ASGN from $95.00 to $88.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, September 9th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $95.40.

ASGN Trading Up 1.1 %

Shares of NYSE ASGN opened at $86.17 on Tuesday. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $89.18 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $91.57. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.81 billion, a PE ratio of 21.82 and a beta of 1.38. ASGN has a one year low of $82.04 and a one year high of $106.42. The company has a current ratio of 2.25, a quick ratio of 2.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58.

ASGN (NYSE:ASGN) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The business services provider reported $1.43 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 business’s quarterly revenue was down 7.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.68 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that ASGN will post 5.17 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at ASGN

In related news, President Randolph C. Blazer sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $95.03, for a total transaction of $950,300.00. Following the sale, the president now owns 85,923 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,165,262.69. This represents a 10.43 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Carol Lindstrom sold 1,060 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $93.02, for a total transaction of $98,601.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 4,579 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $425,938.58. The trade was a 18.80 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 12,260 shares of company stock worth $1,168,469 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. lifted its position in shares of ASGN by 17.3% during the 3rd quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. now owns 5,414 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $505,000 after acquiring an additional 800 shares during the period. Argent Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of ASGN by 12.1% in the 3rd quarter. Argent Capital Management LLC now owns 10,559 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $984,000 after buying an additional 1,142 shares during the period. Cim Investment Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of ASGN during the third quarter valued at approximately $205,000. Handelsbanken Fonder AB grew its holdings 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, Reinhart Partners LLC. increased 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 in the last quarter. 95.36% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.