ASGN Incorporated (NYSE:ASGN) Short Interest Up 6.5% in November

ASGN Incorporated (NYSE:ASGN) was the recipient of a significant growth in short interest during the month of November. As of November 30th, there was short interest totalling 1,810,000 shares, a growth of 6.5% from the November 15th total of 1,700,000 shares. Currently, 4.2% of the company’s stock are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 330,400 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 5.5 days.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently commented on ASGN shares. BMO Capital Markets raised ASGN from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $96.00 to $100.00 in a report on Friday, November 22nd. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their target price on ASGN from $95.00 to $88.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, September 9th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $115.00 price target on shares of ASGN in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $97.83.

Insider Buying and Selling at ASGN

In related news, CEO Theodore S. Hanson sold 1,200 shares of the business’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 transaction, the chief executive officer now 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Carol Lindstrom sold 1,060 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, October 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $93.02, for a total transaction of $98,601.20. Following the transaction, the director now owns 4,579 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $425,938.58. The trade was a 18.80 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 12,260 shares of company stock worth $1,168,469 over the last ninety days. 3.20% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On ASGN

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Argent Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in ASGN by 43.8% in the second quarter. Argent Capital Management LLC now owns 9,417 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $830,000 after buying an additional 2,868 shares during the period. Handelsbanken Fonder AB boosted 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 worth $1,102,000 after buying an additional 2,600 shares in the last quarter. Reinhart Partners LLC. raised its holdings in shares of ASGN by 7.2% during the third quarter. Reinhart Partners LLC. now owns 588,999 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $54,912,000 after purchasing an additional 39,607 shares during the period. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. grew its stake in shares of ASGN by 17.3% in the 3rd 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 during the period. Finally, Cim Investment Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of ASGN during the third quarter worth approximately $205,000. Institutional investors own 95.36% of the company’s stock.

ASGN Price Performance

Shares of NYSE ASGN traded down $1.42 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $87.14. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 275,805 shares, compared to its average volume of 306,579. The company has a market cap of $3.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.05 and a beta of 1.37. ASGN has a fifty-two week low of $83.71 and a fifty-two week high of $106.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58, a quick ratio of 2.25 and a current ratio of 2.25. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $92.48 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $92.31.

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

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.