ASGN (NYSE:ASGN) Upgraded to “Outperform” at BMO Capital Markets

BMO Capital Markets upgraded shares of ASGN (NYSE:ASGN) from a market perform rating to an outperform rating in a report released on Friday morning, Marketbeat Ratings reports. The firm currently has $100.00 price target on the business services provider’s stock, up from their prior price target of $96.00.

A number of other research firms have also commented on ASGN. Canaccord Genuity Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $115.00 target price on shares of ASGN in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price objective on ASGN from $95.00 to $88.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, September 9th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $97.89.

ASGN Stock Up 2.4 %

Shares of NYSE:ASGN opened at $91.35 on Friday. The company’s fifty day moving average is $93.54 and its 200-day moving average is $93.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58, a quick ratio of 2.25 and a current ratio of 2.25. ASGN has a 52 week low of $83.71 and a 52 week high of $106.42. The company has a market capitalization of $4.04 billion, a PE ratio of 22.96 and a beta of 1.40.

ASGN (NYSE:ASGN) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The business services provider reported $1.43 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 firm had revenue of $1.03 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.03 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.68 EPS. The business’s revenue was down 7.7% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts predict that ASGN will post 5.17 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other ASGN news, CEO Theodore S. Hanson sold 1,200 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $99.64, for a total transaction of $119,568.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 288,855 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $28,781,512.20. This represents a 0.41 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed 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 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 transaction, the president now directly owns 85,923 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,165,262.69. This represents a 10.43 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 14,763 shares of company stock worth $1,398,986 in the last three months. 3.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On ASGN

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of ASGN. LRI Investments LLC purchased a new stake in ASGN in the 1st quarter valued at $154,000. Cim Investment Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of ASGN in the third quarter valued at about $205,000. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. lifted its position in shares of ASGN by 17.3% during the third quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. now owns 5,414 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $505,000 after purchasing an additional 800 shares in the last quarter. Argent Capital Management LLC lifted 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 purchasing an additional 2,868 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Handelsbanken Fonder AB boosted its holdings in ASGN by 28.2% during 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 last quarter. 95.36% of the stock is currently 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.