ASGN (NYSE:ASGN) Sees Large Volume Increase – What’s Next?

Shares of ASGN Incorporated (NYSE:ASGN) saw an uptick in trading volume on Tuesday . 319,498 shares were traded during mid-day trading, an increase of 53% from the previous session’s volume of 208,409 shares.The stock last traded at $85.50 and had previously closed at $85.27.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ASGN has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their target price on ASGN from $95.00 to $88.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, September 9th. StockNews.com cut shares of ASGN from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Canaccord Genuity Group restated a “buy” rating and set a $115.00 target price on shares of ASGN in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upgraded 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 report on Friday, November 22nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $95.40.

ASGN Stock Up 0.4 %

The business has a 50-day moving average price of $89.18 and a 200 day moving average price of $91.57. The company has a current ratio of 2.25, a quick ratio of 2.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.68 and a beta of 1.38.

ASGN (NYSE:ASGN) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 23rd. The business services provider reported $1.43 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.35 by $0.08. ASGN had a net margin of 4.37% and a return on equity of 13.65%. The business had revenue of $1.03 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.03 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.68 EPS. The business’s revenue was down 7.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts expect that ASGN Incorporated will post 5.17 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Carol Lindstrom sold 1,060 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $93.02, for a total value of $98,601.20. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 4,579 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $425,938.58. This represents a 18.80 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Theodore S. Hanson sold 1,200 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owns 288,855 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $28,781,512.20. The trade was a 0.41 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 12,260 shares of company stock worth $1,168,469. Corporate insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On ASGN

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Reinhart Partners LLC. increased its stake in 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 buying an additional 39,607 shares during the period. Argent Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of ASGN by 12.1% during the third quarter. Argent Capital Management LLC now owns 10,559 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $984,000 after acquiring an additional 1,142 shares during the period. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. increased 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 worth $505,000 after acquiring an additional 800 shares during the period. Handelsbanken Fonder AB raised its stake 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 acquiring an additional 2,600 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cim Investment Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of ASGN in the third quarter valued at approximately $205,000. 95.36% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.