ASGN (NYSE:ASGN) Coverage Initiated at StockNews.com

StockNews.com assumed coverage on shares of ASGN (NYSE:ASGN – Get Rating) in a research note released on Thursday morning. The firm issued a hold rating on the business services provider’s stock.

Several other equities analysts have also recently weighed in on the stock. Robert W. Baird dropped their price target on shares of ASGN from $108.00 to $103.00 and set a neutral rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 9th. William Blair reaffirmed an outperform rating on shares of ASGN in a research report on Friday, November 25th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, ASGN currently has a consensus rating of Hold and an average target price of $99.80.

ASGN Stock Down 3.3 %

Shares of NYSE ASGN opened at $80.51 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 2.22, a current ratio of 2.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56. The firm has a market cap of $3.97 billion, a PE ratio of 15.39, a P/E/G ratio of 1.22 and a beta of 1.65. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $88.36 and its 200 day simple moving average is $88.68. ASGN has a 12-month low of $78.25 and a 12-month high of $124.35.

ASGN (NYSE:ASGN – Get Rating) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 8th. The business services provider reported $1.51 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.50 by $0.01. ASGN had a net margin of 5.85% and a return on equity of 17.92%. The company had revenue of $1.15 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.14 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.55 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 9.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that ASGN will post 6.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP Jennifer Hankes Painter sold 3,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $92.00, for a total value of $276,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 37,794 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,477,048. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 3.00% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On ASGN

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Paragon Wealth Strategies LLC purchased a new stake in ASGN during the third quarter worth about $27,000. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of ASGN by 55.0% during the 2nd quarter. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC now owns 922 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $83,000 after purchasing an additional 327 shares during the last quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors raised its holdings in shares of ASGN by 7.8% in the 2nd quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 1,833 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $165,000 after purchasing an additional 132 shares during the period. FDx Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in ASGN by 5.4% in the fourth quarter. FDx Advisors Inc. now owns 4,116 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $335,000 after purchasing an additional 211 shares during the last quarter. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC increased its position in ASGN by 41.4% in the fourth quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 13,263 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,081,000 after buying an additional 3,886 shares during the last quarter. 95.20% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About ASGN

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ASGN, Inc engages in the provision of information technology and professional services in the technology, digital, creative, engineering, and life sciences fields in the commercial and government sectors. It operates through the following segments: Apex, Oxford, and ECS. The Apex segment offers technical, scientific, digital, and creative services and solutions to Fortune 1000 and mid-market clients.