ASGN (NYSE:ASGN) Given Buy Rating at Canaccord Genuity Group

ASGN (NYSE:ASGN)‘s stock had its “buy” rating reissued by Canaccord Genuity Group in a research note issued to investors on Thursday, Benzinga reports. They currently have a $115.00 price objective on the business services provider’s stock. Canaccord Genuity Group’s price objective would suggest a potential upside of 12.93% from the company’s previous close.

Several other brokerages have also recently issued reports on ASGN. Robert W. Baird upped their price target on shares of ASGN from $99.00 to $104.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 25th. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price objective on shares of ASGN from $95.00 to $94.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 26th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $97.22.

ASGN Price Performance

ASGN stock opened at $101.83 on Thursday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $93.14 and a 200 day simple moving average of $95.95. The stock has a market cap of $4.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.57, a P/E/G ratio of 8.58 and a beta of 1.40. ASGN has a 1 year low of $75.85 and a 1 year high of $106.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a current ratio of 2.51 and a quick ratio of 2.51.

ASGN (NYSE:ASGN) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 24th. The business services provider reported $1.36 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.33 by $0.03. ASGN had a net margin of 4.76% and a return on equity of 14.90%. The firm had revenue of $1.04 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.05 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.59 EPS. The company’s revenue was down 8.5% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts anticipate that ASGN will post 5.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at ASGN

In related news, President Randolph C. Blazer sold 6,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $98.00, for a total transaction of $588,000.00. Following the transaction, the president now directly owns 101,923 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,988,454. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other ASGN news, Director Marty R. Kittrell sold 1,000 shares of ASGN stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $98.61, for a total value of $98,610.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 4,316 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $425,600.76. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, President Randolph C. Blazer sold 6,000 shares of ASGN stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $98.00, for a total transaction of $588,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the president now directly owns 101,923 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,988,454. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 8,000 shares of company stock valued at $783,650 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of ASGN

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Argent Capital Management LLC raised its position in ASGN by 8.9% in the fourth quarter. Argent Capital Management LLC now owns 5,917 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $569,000 after acquiring an additional 484 shares during the period. Reinhart Partners LLC. raised its position in ASGN by 0.9% in the first quarter. Reinhart Partners LLC. now owns 548,300 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $57,440,000 after acquiring an additional 4,931 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC raised its position in ASGN by 1,851.6% in the second quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 19,887 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,753,000 after acquiring an additional 18,868 shares during the period. LRI Investments LLC bought a new stake in shares of ASGN in the first quarter valued at approximately $154,000. Finally, Meadow Creek Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of ASGN in the first quarter valued at approximately $512,000. Institutional investors own 95.36% of the company’s stock.

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.