ASGN (NYSE:ASGN) Sees Strong Trading Volume – Time to Buy?

ASGN Incorporated (NYSE:ASGN) saw an uptick in trading volume on Tuesday . 319,498 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 53% from the previous session’s volume of 208,409 shares.The stock last traded at $85.50 and had previously closed at $85.27.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. StockNews.com lowered shares of ASGN from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday. BMO Capital Markets upgraded shares of ASGN from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $96.00 to $100.00 in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group reissued a “buy” rating and set a $115.00 target price on shares of ASGN in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $101.75.

ASGN Trading Up 0.6 %

The company has a fifty day moving average of $88.86 and a 200-day moving average of $91.52. The company has a current ratio of 2.25, a quick ratio of 2.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58. The company has a market capitalization of $3.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.98 and a beta of 1.38.

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. The firm had revenue of $1.03 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.03 billion. ASGN had a return on equity of 13.65% and a net margin of 4.37%. The business’s revenue was down 7.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.68 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that ASGN Incorporated will post 5.17 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at ASGN

In related news, President Randolph C. Blazer sold 10,000 shares of the 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 completion of the transaction, the president now owns 85,923 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,165,262.69. This trade represents a 10.43 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Carol Lindstrom sold 1,060 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, October 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $93.02, for a total value of $98,601.20. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 4,579 shares in the company, valued at $425,938.58. This represents a 18.80 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 12,260 shares of company stock worth $1,168,469 in the last three months. 3.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Handelsbanken Fonder AB lifted its holdings in 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 during the last quarter. Reinhart Partners LLC. boosted 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 valued at $54,912,000 after acquiring an additional 39,607 shares in the last quarter. Argent Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of ASGN by 12.1% during the third 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. increased its position in shares of ASGN by 17.3% during the third 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Cim Investment Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of ASGN in the 3rd quarter valued at about $205,000. Hedge funds and other 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.