BMO Capital Markets Upgrades ASGN (NYSE:ASGN) to Outperform

ASGN (NYSE:ASGN) was upgraded by analysts at BMO Capital Markets from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research note issued on Friday, Marketbeat reports. The brokerage currently has a $100.00 price objective on the business services provider’s stock, up from their previous price objective of $96.00. BMO Capital Markets’ price objective would suggest a potential upside of 12.06% from the company’s current price.

Other equities research analysts have also recently issued research reports about the stock. Canaccord Genuity Group restated a “buy” rating and issued a $115.00 price objective on shares of ASGN in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price objective on 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 given a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, ASGN has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $97.89.

ASGN Trading Up 5.6 %

ASGN opened at $89.24 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $3.94 billion, a PE ratio of 22.59 and a beta of 1.40. The business has a 50 day moving average of $93.54 and a 200-day moving average of $93.27. ASGN has a 52 week low of $83.71 and a 52 week high of $106.42. The company has a quick ratio of 2.25, a current ratio of 2.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58.

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other 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 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 trade represents a 10.43 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Theodore S. Hanson sold 1,200 shares of ASGN 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 288,855 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $28,781,512.20. This represents a 0.41 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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. Insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On ASGN

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Reinhart Partners LLC. lifted its holdings in ASGN by 7.2% in the third quarter. Reinhart Partners LLC. now owns 588,999 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $54,912,000 after acquiring an additional 39,607 shares during the period. Argent Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of ASGN by 43.8% in the 2nd quarter. Argent Capital Management LLC now owns 9,417 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $830,000 after purchasing an additional 2,868 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC boosted its holdings 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 buying an additional 18,868 shares during the last quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. boosted its holdings 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 buying an additional 800 shares during the last quarter. Finally, LRI Investments LLC bought a new position in ASGN in the first quarter worth approximately $154,000. 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.