ASGN (NYSE:ASGN) Stock Rating Upgraded by BMO Capital Markets

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

Other equities research analysts have also recently issued research reports about the stock. Canaccord Genuity Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $115.00 price target on shares of ASGN in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price target on shares of ASGN from $95.00 to $88.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, September 9th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, ASGN currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $97.89.

ASGN Price Performance

Shares of ASGN opened at $89.24 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $93.61 and a 200-day moving average price of $93.33. ASGN has a fifty-two week low of $83.71 and a fifty-two week high of $106.42. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.94 billion, a PE ratio of 21.43 and a beta of 1.40. 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 (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 the consensus estimate of $1.35 by $0.08. ASGN had a net margin of 4.37% and a return on equity of 13.65%. The firm had revenue of $1.03 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.03 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.68 EPS. The company’s revenue was down 7.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts predict that ASGN will post 5.17 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at ASGN

In other ASGN news, President Randolph C. Blazer sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, the president now owns 85,923 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,165,262.69. This trade represents a 10.43 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Theodore S. Hanson sold 1,200 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 14,763 shares of company stock valued at $1,398,986 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in ASGN. LRI Investments LLC acquired a new stake in shares of ASGN in the first quarter worth $154,000. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. increased its stake in shares of ASGN by 17.3% in the third quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. now owns 5,414 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $505,000 after acquiring an additional 800 shares during the period. Argent Capital Management LLC increased its stake 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 worth $830,000 after acquiring an additional 2,868 shares during the period. Handelsbanken Fonder AB increased its stake in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 2,600 shares during the period. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC increased its stake 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 worth $1,753,000 after acquiring an additional 18,868 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.