ASGN Incorporated (NYSE:ASGN) Sees Significant Increase in Short Interest

ASGN Incorporated (NYSE:ASGN) was the target of a significant growth in short interest in the month of 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. Approximately 4.6% of the shares of the stock are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 348,900 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 5.6 days.

ASGN Stock Up 0.0 %

ASGN stock opened at $87.44 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $3.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.03 and a beta of 1.38. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $88.11 and its 200-day simple moving average is $91.50. The company has a current ratio of 2.25, a quick ratio of 2.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58. ASGN has a 1-year low of $82.04 and a 1-year high of $106.42.

Insider Activity at ASGN

In related 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 directly owns 288,855 shares in the company, valued at approximately $28,781,512.20. This trade represents a 0.41 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Company insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of ASGN. Handelsbanken Fonder AB raised its holdings in 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 during the period. Reinhart Partners LLC. grew its position 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 purchasing an additional 39,607 shares during the last quarter. Argent Capital Management LLC grew its position in ASGN by 12.1% in the 3rd quarter. Argent Capital Management LLC now owns 10,559 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $984,000 after purchasing an additional 1,142 shares during the last quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. grew its position in ASGN by 17.3% in the 3rd quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. now owns 5,414 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $505,000 after purchasing an additional 800 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cim Investment Management Inc. acquired a new stake in ASGN in the 3rd quarter worth $205,000. Institutional investors own 95.36% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently commented on ASGN shares. Canaccord Genuity Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $115.00 price objective on shares of ASGN in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. StockNews.com lowered shares of ASGN from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets raised shares of ASGN from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $96.00 to $100.00 in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $101.75.

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.