Short Interest in ASGN Incorporated (NYSE:ASGN) Rises By 6.5%

ASGN Incorporated (NYSE:ASGN) saw a significant growth in short interest in January. As of January 15th, there was short interest totalling 1,960,000 shares, a growth of 6.5% from the December 31st total of 1,840,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 348,900 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 5.6 days. Approximately 4.6% of the shares of the stock are short sold.

Insider Transactions at ASGN

In other news, CEO Theodore S. Hanson sold 1,200 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $99.64, for a total value of $119,568.00. Following the transaction, 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 3.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On ASGN

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Cim Investment Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of ASGN during the 3rd quarter worth $205,000. Entropy Technologies LP acquired a new position in ASGN during the fourth quarter worth about $299,000. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. lifted 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 acquiring an additional 800 shares during the last quarter. Argent Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of ASGN by 12.1% in the 3rd quarter. Argent Capital Management LLC now owns 10,559 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $984,000 after purchasing an additional 1,142 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Handelsbanken Fonder AB grew its holdings in shares of ASGN by 28.2% during the 3rd quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 11,823 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,102,000 after purchasing an additional 2,600 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 95.36% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ASGN has been the subject of several research analyst reports. StockNews.com cut shares of ASGN from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. BMO Capital Markets upgraded ASGN from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their price target for the company from $96.00 to $100.00 in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $115.00 target price on shares of ASGN in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $101.75.

ASGN Stock Performance

NYSE:ASGN opened at $87.49 on Tuesday. 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 has a fifty-two week low of $82.04 and a fifty-two week high of $106.42. The company has a market cap of $3.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.15 and a beta of 1.38. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $88.11 and a 200-day moving average price of $91.50.

About ASGN

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.