ASGN (NYSE:ASGN) Lowered to Hold Rating by StockNews.com

ASGN (NYSE:ASGN) was downgraded by investment analysts at StockNews.com from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note issued on Tuesday.

A number of other brokerages have also recently weighed in on ASGN. BMO Capital Markets raised shares of ASGN from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $96.00 to $100.00 in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their target price on shares of ASGN from $95.00 to $88.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, September 9th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $115.00 price target on shares of ASGN in a report on Thursday, October 24th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, ASGN presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $95.40.

ASGN Trading Up 0.2 %

ASGN stock opened at $85.21 on Tuesday. 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 company has a market cap of $3.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.57 and a beta of 1.38. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $89.18 and a 200-day simple moving average of $91.57. ASGN has a 52 week low of $82.04 and a 52 week high of $106.42.

ASGN (NYSE:ASGN) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The business services provider reported $1.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.35 by $0.08. The firm had revenue of $1.03 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.03 billion. ASGN had a return on equity of 13.65% and a net margin of 4.37%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 7.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.68 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts expect that ASGN will post 5.17 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Theodore S. Hanson sold 1,200 shares of the firm’s 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 trade represents a 0.41 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Carol Lindstrom sold 1,060 shares of ASGN stock in a transaction on Friday, October 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $93.02, for a total transaction of $98,601.20. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 4,579 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $425,938.58. This trade represents a 18.80 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 12,260 shares of company stock worth $1,168,469. 3.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ASGN. Cim Investment Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of ASGN in the 3rd quarter valued at about $205,000. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. raised its stake in 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 buying an additional 800 shares in the last quarter. Argent Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in ASGN by 12.1% during the 3rd quarter. Argent Capital Management LLC now owns 10,559 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $984,000 after buying an additional 1,142 shares during the last quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB grew its position in shares of ASGN by 28.2% in the 3rd 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Reinhart Partners LLC. grew its position in shares of ASGN by 7.2% in the 3rd quarter. Reinhart Partners LLC. now owns 588,999 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $54,912,000 after acquiring an additional 39,607 shares in the last quarter. 95.36% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.