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

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

ASGN Trading Down 1.6 %

ASGN traded down $1.42 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $87.14. 275,805 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 306,579. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $92.48 and its two-hundred day moving average is $92.31. ASGN has a 1-year low of $83.71 and a 1-year high of $106.42. The company has a market cap of $3.85 billion, a PE ratio of 22.05 and a beta of 1.37. 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 (NYSE:ASGN) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The business services provider reported $1.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.35 by $0.08. ASGN had a net margin of 4.37% and a return on equity of 13.65%. The company had revenue of $1.03 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.03 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.68 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 7.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts forecast that ASGN will post 5.17 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Theodore S. Hanson sold 1,200 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $99.64, for a total value of $119,568.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 288,855 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $28,781,512.20. This represents a 0.41 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, President Randolph C. Blazer sold 10,000 shares of ASGN stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $95.03, for a total transaction of $950,300.00. Following the sale, the president now directly owns 85,923 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,165,262.69. The trade was a 10.43 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 12,260 shares of company stock worth $1,168,469. 3.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On ASGN

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Cim Investment Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of ASGN in the 3rd quarter valued at about $205,000. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. raised its holdings in ASGN by 17.3% in the third quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. now owns 5,414 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $505,000 after acquiring an additional 800 shares in the last quarter. Argent Capital Management LLC raised 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 acquiring an additional 2,868 shares in the last quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB lifted its stake in ASGN by 28.2% in the third 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 last quarter. Finally, Reinhart Partners LLC. lifted its stake in ASGN by 7.2% in the third quarter. Reinhart Partners LLC. now owns 588,999 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $54,912,000 after acquiring an additional 39,607 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.36% of the company’s stock.

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.